SEBSkl 


TIrMY  LiFE 


•  li 


I^SSIA 


il 


ARTHUR  NOBLE 

Malx'M  hdcm  rl  lionam  conjcienliam. 


/C^K* 


Vn 


SKETCHES 


OF 


Army  Life  in  Russia 


BY 


F.    V.    GREENE 

Lieutenant  of  Engineers,   U.  S.  Ar?>!y 

LATE   MILITARY   ATTACHE  TO    1  HE  U.    S.    LEGATION    IN   ST.  PETERSBURG   AND    AUTHOR 
OF   "THE  RUSSIAN   ARMY  AND    ITS  CAMPAIGNS   IN  TUHKEV   IN    1877-7S." 


NEW    YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

743  AM)  745  Broadway 

1.S80 


Copyright 

1880 

By  Charles  Scribner's  Sons 


ritEss  Of  I.  >.  Little  d  CO., 

N05.   10    TO  20   ASTOB   PLACE.  NEW  YORK, 


SfiJLF 


PREFACE. 


A  YEAR  ago,  in  "The  Russian  Army  and  its 
Campaigns  in  Turkey  in  1877-78,"  I  endeavored  to 
explain  to  military  readers  the  organization  of  the 
Russian  army,  to  narrate  the  events  of  the  war  I 
had  been  sent  to  observe,  and  to  state  certain  pro- 
fessional conclusions  which  that  war  justified. 

In  the  following  pages  I  have  attempted  to  give 
a  few  sketches,  which,  crude  and  imperfect  as  they 
are,  may  yet  serve  to  give  some  idea  of  the  soul 
which  animates  the  Russian  military  machine,  and 
tell  what  manner  of  man  the  Russian  soldier  is,  and 
how  he  lives  and  moves  and  has  his  beine. 

To  analyse  the  characteristics  of  a  large  body  of 
men  is  always  a  difficult  matter,  and,  moreover,  in 
writing  publicly  of  a  people  from  whom  the  greatest 
kindness  and  hospitality  have  been  received,  one 
runs  the  risk  cither  of  offending  those  who  have 
bestowed  this  kindness,  by  giving  too  great  promi- 
nence to  unpleasant  truths,  or  else  of  being  false  to 
the  public  which  is  addressed,  by  stating  only  the 


iv  •       Preface. 

virtues  of  the  people  described.  I  have  certainly 
had  no  intention  of  limiting  myself  to  the  latter, 
and  I  hope  I  have  not  been  indiscreet  in  stating 
the  former.  Should  these  sketches  ever  come  to 
the  notice  of  those  who  treated  me  as  one  of  them- 
selves during  the  campaign  in  Turkey,  I  feel  sure 
they  will  see  that  whatever  I  have  written  in  crit- 
icism of  their  countrymen  is  wholly  free  from  malice, 
and  is  only  what  I  have  often  saicl'to  them  and  they 
to  mc  in  friendly  conversation;  and  they  need  have 
no  fear  of  having  it  made  public.  If  I  have  not 
shown  the  Russian  soldier  to  be  above  all  manly, 
generous,  and  warm-hearted,  then  I  have  certainly 
failed  to  transcribe  the  picture  of  him  which  re- 
mains in  my  own  mind,  and  have  done  injustice  to 
a  people  whose  hospitality  to  individual  Americans 
is  no  less  conspicuous  than  their  unvarying  friend- 
ship for  the  United  States  as  a  nation. 

F.  V.  G. 

Washington,  June,  1880. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PACE 

I.     The  Tsar i 

II.     The  Russian  Soldier i6 

III.  Shipka  Pass 36 

IV.  Plevna 53 

V.     The  Winter  Campaign 88 

VI.     Russian  Generals 126 

VII.     War  Correspondents 152 

VIII.     Constantinople 1 68 

IX.     St.  Petersburg 205 

X.     The  Eastern  Question 251 

V 


SKETCHES 


OF 


Army  Life  in  Russia. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE   TSAR. 

In  attempting  to  give  any  description  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  Russian  Army,  one  naturally 
begins  with  the  Tsar,  who  is  at  once  the  head  and 
the  object  of  the  whole  organization.  It  is  in  Rus- 
sia alone,  of  all  civilized  countries,  that  at  this  day 
•we  find  the  idea  of  personal  allegiance  existing  in  its 
primitive  purity,  undisturbed  by  the  tendencies  of 
modern  representative  government.  This  personal 
allegiance  is  the  corner-stone  of  the  whole  fabric 
of  society  in  Russia,  and  it  has  been  strengthened 
rather  than  weakened  by  the  changes  which  have 
taken  place  in  the  development  of  the  country 
since  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great.  In  other  ccnin- 
trics  the  soldier  fights  for  his  country,  for  the  idea 
that  is  so  clearly  crystallized  in  the  German  motto 
"  Fiir  Gott  und  Vat cr land ;  "  but  the  Russian   sol- 


2  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

dicr  fights  for  God  and  the  Tsar.  To  his  mind  the 
Tsar  is  specially  appointed  by  God  as  his  Viceroy 
to  govern  that  large  portion  of  the  earth  called 
Russia,  and  devotion  to  the  Tsar  includes  all  that 
we  understand  in  the  word  patriotism. 

I  arrived  at  the  little  Bulgarian  village  of  Biela, 
where  the  Emperor  was  then  quartered,  on  the 
afternoon  of  August  5,  1877.  Winding  my  way 
through  the  crooked  little  streets  I  inquired  for  the 
Emperor's  headquarters,  and  finally  reached  a  court- 
yard surrounded  by  a  fence  in  front  of  whose  en- 
trance two  sentinels  were  pacing.  I  addressed  an 
officer  in  the  yard  whom  I  supposed  to  be  the  aide- 
de-camp  on  duty,  stating  my  name  and  position, 
and  asking  him  to  send  my  card  in  to  the  Minister 
of  War.  He  politely  invited  me  to  enter  the  yard, 
took  my  card,  and  quickly  returned  to  say  that  the 
minister  would  be  out  in  a  few  minutes,  and  would 
present  me  to  the  Emperor  before  dinner  which  was 
about  to  be  served.  I  was  covered  with  the  dust 
of  a  ride  of  twenty-four  consecutive  hours  across 
the  parched  plains  of  Roumania  in  a  telega,*  and  I 
was  somewhat  appalled  at  the  idea  of  being  pre- 
sented in  such  a  condition  ;  but,  on  asking  if  it  were 
not  possible  for  me  to  wash  my  hands  and  face,  I 
was  assured  with  a  good-natured  laugh  that  there 

*  A  small  Russian  postchaise  on  four  wheels  without  springs. 


The  Tsar.  3 

would  not  be  time,  but  I  need  give  myself  no  un- 
easiness as  it  was  a  daily  occurrence  for  some  aide- 
de-camp  or  other  officer  to  arrive  covered  with  dirt 
just  at  dinner  time.  Wiping  off  a  part  of  the  dust 
from  my  face  with  a  handkerchief,  I  looked  about 
the  place  where  the  Emperor  of  Russia  was  quar- 
tered. It  was  a  plain  little  courtyard,  about  a  hun- 
dred feet  across,  on  one  side  of  which  was  a  small 
one-story  house  built  partly  of  wood  and  partly  of 
mud,  in  which  the  Minister  of  War  and  his  office 
were  quartered.  Opposite  this  was  an  immense 
tent,  formed  of  three  hospital  tents  joined  end  to 
end,  in  which  were  tables  set  for  dinner.  At  one 
side,  partly  concealed  by  a  little  hedge,  were  two 
ordinary  officers'  tents  in  which  the  Emperor  lived. 
In  the  courtyard,  officers  of  various  ranks,  ministers, 
generals,  aide-de-camps,  officers  of  the  escort,  etc., 
were  beginning  to  assemble.  I  was  introduced  to  a 
number  of  them,  and  presently  to  the  Minister  of 
War,  with  whom  I  was  talking  when  the  Emperor 
appeared.  Every  one  stopped,  faced  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Emperor's  tents,  cracked  his  heels  to- 
gether, and  carried  his  hands  to  his  cap  to  salute. 
The  Emperor  was  dressed  in  an  ordinary  general's 
undress  uniform  without  the  sword.  He  walked 
slowly,  coming  from  behind  the  hedge  in  front  of 
his  tents,  stopped  to  say  something  to  the  men  com- 
posing the  band  of  music,  who  replied  with  a  simul- 


4  Ar)iij  Life  in  Russia. 

tanoous  shout,  and  then  came  among  the  officers, 
bowing  in  return  to  their  salutes  and  extending  his 
hand  to  some  of  them,  who  acknowledged  the  favor 
by  loyally  kissing  his  shoulder.  I  was  immediately 
taken  up  by  the  Minister  of  War  and  presented. 
The  Emperor  asked  a  few  questions  concerning  my 
journey,  etc.,  and  then  motioned  to  dinner.  In  ac- 
cordance with  the  invariable  Russian  custom,  there 
was  a  side  table  containing  Vodka  and  other  bran- 
dies and  whiskies,  cheese,  caviare,  small  fishes  fried 
in  oil,  and  other  appetizers.  After  partaking  of  this 
preliminary  meal,  known  as  "  zakooska,"  we  went 
into  the  dining  tent  where  there  were  two  long 
tables  containing  about  eighty  places.  The  Em- 
peror sat  at  the  middle  of  one  of  these ;  on  his 
right  a  white-headed  veteran.  General  Suwaroff, 
Prince  Italiisky,  grandson  of  the  famous  one  whose 
deeds  at  Ismail  are  familiar  to  all  readers  of  Byron ; 
on  his  left  General  Milutin,  Minister  of  War,  and 
on  either  side  of  them  other  generals  in  the  order  of 
their  rank.  Opposite  the  Emperor  sat  General  Von 
Werder,  Military  Agent  of  Germany,  and  on  either 
side  of  him  a  Roumanian  officer  just  arrived,  and 
myself — the  only  three  foreign  officers  present — 
and  beyond  us  other  Russian  officers.  As  we  sat 
down  the  band  struck  up  an  air  outside  the  tent, 
and  continued  playing  at  intervals  throughout  the 
dinner.     The   service  was  of  silver,  the   cups   lined 


The  Tsar.  5 

with  gold,  and  each  piece  bore  the  imperial  cipher 
and  the  letter  N.  It  evidently  was  not  new,  and 
had  in  fact  seen  service  in  the  war  of  1828  with 
the  Emperor  Nicholas.  The  servants  wore  the 
crown  livery  of  dark  blue  coats,  bordered  with 
gold  fringe,  covered  with  double-headed  eagles 
embroidered  in  black  silk,  but  otherwise  the  sur- 
roundings of  the  table  were  of  the  plainest.  The 
dinner  was  simple,  soup,  joint,  entree,  compote  and 
coffee,  and  a  small  allowance  of  the  light  wines  of 
France  and  Germany.  Conversation  was  general 
and  unrestrained,  principally  concerning  the  inci- 
dents of  Gourko's  first  passage  of  the  Balkans  from 
which  one  or  two  aides  had  just  returned.  Just 
after  the  compote  (preserved  peaches  or  some  other 
fruit)  was  finished  there  seemed  to  be  a  silence, 
when  the  Emperor  said  something  in  Russian  and 
the  whole  company  responded  with  one  loud  simul- 
taneous shout.  I  looked  up  startled  and  saw  the 
Emperor  staring  at  me  and  laughing  very  heartily 
at  my  confusion.  He  explained  that  it  was  the 
signal  for  smoking,  and  that  I  must  learn  to  answer 
with  the  others.  The  words  were  Vzveencmai paJi-Ji-Ji- 
to  which  every  one  answered  tronn ;  vweencmai 
patronn  being  the  Russian  command  "  Take  cart- 
ridges." After  this  little  pleasantry  every  one 
produced  from  his  pocket  his  silver  cigarette  case, 
lighted   a   cigarette,    and  smoked,   and    sipped    his 


6  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

coffee.  Candles  were  then  lighted,  and  a  large 
package  was  brought  and  placed  before  a  gray- 
headed  old  courtier,  Count  Adierberg,  the  Minister 
of  the  Court,  who  immediately  began  reading  the 
comments  of  the  various  newspapers  of  London, 
Paris,  Berlin  and  Vienna  upon  the  progress  of  the 
war.  These  were  articles  which  had  been  carefully 
selected  by  an  official  of  the  Foreign  office  present 
at  headquarters,  from  the  files  of  papers  brought  the 
previous  day  by  a  courier.  They  had  all  been  trans- 
lated into  French,  and  were  read  off  in  a  monotonous 
tone.  Occasionally  there  was  an  interjection  at 
some  opinion  favorable  or  unfavorable  to  the  Rus- 
sian cause,  and  a  slight  discussion  at  the  termination 
of  some  of  the  articles,  but  most  of  them  were  re- 
ceived in  silence  though  listened  to  with  attention. 

It  seemed  to  me,  fresh  from  the  bustling  rough 
and  ready  world  of  America,  where  people  read 
their  own  newspapers,  a  strange  scene. 

The  autocratic  ruler  of  eighty-seven  millions  of 
people,  scattered  over  a  territory  comprising  one- 
fifth  of  the  inhabited  portion  of  the  entire  surface 
of  the  earth,  sitting  here  in  a  tent  in  a  rude  village 
of  a  foreign  land,  whither  he  had  come  to  free  his 
fellow  christians  from  the  yoke  of  bondage  to  their 
hereditary  enemies,  surrounded  by  his  ministers  and 
generals,  and  listening  to  the  news  from  the  outside 
world   and   the   opinions    formed    in   the   editorial 


TJie  Tsar.  7 

rooms  of  newspaper  offices !  We  had  news  from 
England,  then  from  Austria,  from  Germany,  from 
France.  I  almost  wondered  whether  I  was  really  in 
the  midst  of  the  every-day  bustling  life  of  the  19th 
century,  or  whether  I  was  not  assisting  at  some 
slightly  varied  rehearsal  of  one  of  Shakspeare's 
plays,  so  thoroughly  medieval  did  the  scene  appear 
to  me.  After  the  news  had  all  been  read  there  was 
a  little  conversation,  and  then  the  Emperor  rose  to 
leave  the  table.  Every  one  stood  up  to  salute  him, 
and  he  passed  along  saying  a  word  or  two  to  this 
or  that  person.  As  he  passed  me  he  stopped  and 
said  he  supposed  I  wished  to  join  the  army  and  see 
the  active  operations.  I  replied  that  such  was  my 
desire,  with  his  permission.  He  then  said  with  a 
certain  emphasis  that  his  brother  had  the  entire  com- 
mand of  the  army,  he  himself  being  only  a  spectator ; 
that  his  brother  was  expected  here  in  a  few  days,  and 
that  I  could  then  make  arrangements  to  return  with 
him  to  the  army  headquarters  proper. 

After  the  Emperor  passed  out  the  officers  grad- 
ually dispersed  to  their  tents  or  quarters.  I  found 
that  my  baggage  had  been  directed  to  a  deserted 
Turkish  house,  a  few  hundred  yards  off,  and  installed 
there,  and  I  was  informed  by  the  aide-de-camp  on 
duty  that  by  the  Emperor's  invitation  I  would  be 
expected  at  his  table  so  long  as  I  remained  at  his 
headquarters,  and  that  coffee  was  served  at  eight  in 


8  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

the  morning,  breakfast  at  noon,  dinner  at  six,  and  a 
cup  of  tea  for  those  who  desired  it,  at  nine  in  the 
evening. 

The  dinner  was  the  principal  gathering  of  the  day 
at  the  Emperor's  headquarters,  and  varied  but  Httle 
from  that  just  described,  except  that  the  reading  of 
newspaper  articles  only  took  place  on  the  days  fol- 
lowing the  arrival  of  a  courier.  The  Emperor  ordi- 
narily rose  between  seven  and  eight  in  the  morning, 
took  coffee  in  his  own  tent,  and  was  busily  engaged 
with  his  ministers  until  noon,  when  he  came  to 
breakfast  ^\•ith  his  suite  ;  this  meal  was  short,  and 
he  then  w^ent  out  for  a  drive  in  an  open  barouche 
with  one  of  his  family,  if  any  were  present,  if  not, 
with  Prince  Suwarof  or  some  other  general ;  in  his 
drive  he  always  included  a  visit  to  the  hospitals,  if 
any  were  near,  or  to  some  of  the  troops  ;  returning 
to  his  tent,  he  devoted  three  or  four  hours  to  work, 
then  dined,  and  after  dinner,  if  before  sunset,  took 
a  short  walk,  and  then  retired  to  his  tent,  where 
none  but  the  most  intimate  of  his  followers  were 
admitted.  His  life  varied  but  little  from  this 
throughout  the  whole  campaign.  He  was  with  the 
army  at  Kishineff  at  the  time  of  the  declaration  of 
war,  April  24th,  but  returned  to  St.  Petersburg  a 
week  later.  A  month  afterward,  however,  he  came 
back  to  the  army  again,  reaching  Ploiesti,  in  Rou- 
mania,  on  the    8th    of    May.     For  the  next  seven 


TJic   Tsar.  9 

months — until  after  Plevna  had  fallen  on  December 
loth — he  remained  continually  with  the  army,  not 
commanding  it,  though  he  was  advised  as  to  all  its 
affairs,  but  sharing  in  more  than  the  proportion  of 
a  sovereign  its  hardships  and  dangers,  animating  it 
by  his  presence,  and  extending  to  those  who  reaped 
its  misfortunes  in  wounds  and  sickness  his  sym- 
pathy and  his  aid. 

The  Minister  of  War,  the  Minister  of  the  Court, 
and  the  Chief  of  the  "  Third  Section,"  or  Secret  Po- 
lice, were  always  with  him.  Prince  Gortschakoff's 
age  prevented  him  from  coming  to  camp,  but  he 
established  himself  at  Bucharest,  the  nearest  town. 
Communication  with  St.  Petersburg  was  kept  up 
by  incessant  telegraphing  and  by  means  of  special 
couriers  leaving  each  place  three  times  per  week, 
and,  traveling  without  rest  by  rail  and  post,  accom- 
plishing the  journey  in  four  to  five  days. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  time  the  Emperor 
was  in  the  possession  of  good  health,  although 
suffering  at  times  from  bilious  fevers,  particularly 
during  the  autumn  rains.  His  headquarters  were 
shifted  from  one  village  to  another,  to  be  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  most  important  operations  of  the 
troops.  During  the  summer  he  lived  with  compar- 
ative comfort  in  a  tent,  but  as  the  cold  autumnal 
rains  came  on  he  was  forced  to  seek  such  shelter  as 
the  miserable  huts  of   the   villages   afforded.     His 


10  ulniiy  Lift-  in  Knssia. 

manner  was  always  the  same — dignified,  courteous, 
and  apparently  calm  ;  yet  even  a  casual  observer 
could  detect  the  weight  of  care  and  responsibility 
which  seemed  to  rest  so  heavily  upon  him.  The 
expression  of  his  face  grew  still  sadder  as  the  sum- 
mer and  autumn  wore  on  and  Plevna  held  fast,  and 
he  gradually  lost  flesh — more  than  thirty  pounds — 
giving  him  a  gaunt  look.  Only  once  he  broke 
down,  and,  as  I  was  told,  could  not  restrain  his 
tears  as  the  list  of  killed  in  his  guard  at  the  battle 
of  Gorni-Dubnik  was  read  out  to  him — every  name 
being  as  familiar  to  him  as  his  own,  and  comprising 
those  who  had  grown  up  about  him  from  boyhood. 
Just  after  this  battle  he  rode  over  one  Sunday  to 
thank  the  troops  who  had  taken  part  in  it.  I  was 
then  at  General  Gourko's  headquarters,  who  com- 
manded these  troops,  and  rode  out  with  him  to 
meet  the  Emperor  and  his  suite.  They  arrived 
about  noon — the  more  important  officers  in  car- 
riages, and  the  others  and  the  escort  of  cossacks  on 
horseback.  Leaving  his  carriage  and  mounting  his 
horse  the  Emperor  rode  forward,  followed  by  his 
suite,  toward  the  men  who  were  drawn  up  for 
parade.  As  he  rode  down  the  lines,  saluting  the 
men  with  "  Good  morning,"  and  they  answering 
back  in  long  shouts — stopping  now  and  then  to 
talk  with  some  of  the  officers  or  distribute  crosses 
to   the   men — the    men    followed    him    with    eyes 


TJic   Tsar.  1 1 

stretched  to  their  utmost,  and  with  awe  and  ven- 
eration depicted  on  their  faces.  Studying  their 
intent  expressions  one  got  some  insight  into  the 
thoughts  of  these  simple-minded,  faithful  creatures, 
and  saw  that  it  still  was  possible  in  this  sceptical 
age  for  men  to  look  up  to  another  man  with  per- 
sonal adoration.  The  enthusiasm  was  not  forced — 
nowhere  was  there  an  indifferent  face — every  man 
fastened  his  eyes  on  the  Emperor,  and  kept  them 
there  so  long  as  he  was  near  him.  For  a  moment 
they  seemed  to  forget  every  one  else  but  the  Tsar 
who  actually  was  before  them  in  the  flesh.  Their 
expression  was  not  so  much  one  of  joy  as  of  absent- 
minded,  wondering  veneration.  I  have  never  seen 
a  similar  look  on  men's  faces  elsewhere,  and  at 
other  reviews  of  the  same  troops  by  generals  or 
princes  the  same  sort  of  ceremony  was  gone 
through,  but  the  men  never  had  the  same  thoughts 
written  on  their  faces  as  they  had  when  they  saw 
the  Tsar. 

After  the  troops  had  all  been  visited  an  open  air 
mass  was  held.  One  division  of  about  ten  thou- 
sand men  was  drawn  up  on  the  plain  west  of  Plevna, 
and  about  two  miles  from  the  high  range  of  hills 
on  which  the  Turkish  batteries  stood  ;  the  division 
was  formed  on  three  sides  of  a  square,  with  a  few 
squadrons  of  cavalry  on  each  flank.  In  the  centre 
stood  the  Emperor,  alone  and  bareheaded,  slightly 


12  Army  Life  i)i  Russia. 

in  advance  of  his  suite;  in  front  of  him  was  the 
priest  in  gorgeous  robes,  with  a  golden  crucifix  and 
the  Bible  laitl  on  a  pile  of  drums  which  answered 
for  an  altar;  a  short  distance  to  one  side  was  a 
choir  consisting  of  twenty  or  thirty  soldiers,  with 
fine  musical  voices.  Every  one  uncovered  his  head, 
and  the  service  began  in  that  slow,  sad  chant  which 
is  peculiar  to  the  Greek  church  ;  at  the  name  of 
Jesus  every  one  of  the  vast  crowd  crossed  himself. 
On  the  opposite  hills,  as  the  service  went  on,  could 
be  seen  large  numbers  of  Turks  congregating  in 
wonder  at  the  assembly  of  this  large  number  of  men. 
Finally  came  the  prayer  for  the  repose  of  those 
who  had  died  in  the  battle  a  few  days  before ;  the 
Emperor  knelt  on  the  ground,  resting  his  head  on 
the  hilt  of  his  sword,  every  one  followed  his  exam- 
ple, and  the  whole  division  knelt  there  with  their 
guns  in  one  hand,  crossing  themselves  with  the 
other,  and  following  in  a  subdued  voice  the  words 
of  the  chant. 

Nothing  could  give  a  clearer  perception  of  the 
relations  between  the  Tsar  and  his  men  than  this 
strangely  impressive  scene ;  the  Gosudar  Impcrator 
(Our  Lord  the  Emperor),  surrounded  by  his  people, 
with  arms  in  their  hands,  facing  their  hereditary 
enemies  in  religion  and  politics,  and  chanting  in 
slow  monotone,  whose  periods  were  marked  by  the 
booming  of  distant  cannon,  the  requiem  for  their 


The  Tsar.  13 

dead  comrades.  The  Russian  people  have  no  fewer 
daily  sins  to  answer  for  than  other  people,  but  the 
feeling  which  binds  the  lower  classes  to  their  Tsar 
is  one  of  purely  religious  enthusiasm  and  veneration, 
which  finds  no  counterpart  elsewhere  in  these  latter 
days.  The  west  of  Europe  and  America  have  suc- 
ceeded, without  substituting  anything  better  for  it, 
in  destroying  that  faith  which  constitutes  the  poe- 
try of  the  Christian  religion  ;  in  Russia,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  find  only  primitive  faith — or  else  nihil- 
ism— among  the  middle  and  lower  classes ;  modern 
scepticism,  which  discards  religion  but  respects  good 
government  and  morals,  has  taken  no  root  among 
them.  With  them  the  divine  right  of  kings  is  still 
a  living  principle. 

It  would  be  idle  to  pretend  that  the  upper 
classes,  which  travel  widely,  speak  many  languages, 
habituate  Paris,  and  lose  their  distinctive  national 
traits  in  cosmopolitan  intercourse,  have  much  of 
the  reality  of  this  religious  feeling;  they  attend  the 
church  services  with  great  regularity,  and  make  the 
sign  of  the  cross  at  the  proper  moments ;  but  they 
do  it  in  a  perfunctory  way,  and  with  many  signs  of 
weariness  on  their  faces.  But  to  the  class  from 
which  the  soldiers,  come,  the  religion  of  miracles 
and  ceremonies  which  they  arc  taught,  is  the  most 
real  thing  of  their  lives,  and  on  earth  it  all  centers 
in  the  Tsar, 


14  An/ij  Life  in  Kitssia. 

No  one  who  saw  the  Emperor  at  any  time  during 
tlicse  long  months  that  he  remained  with  the  army 
could  doubt  his  honesty,  or  his  firm  conviction  of 
right  in  the  cause  he  had  espoused.  He  is  a  man 
who  lacks  the  iron  will  and  energy  of  his  great  pro- 
genitor Peter,  or  even  of  his  own  father  Nicholas, 
but  he  is  endowed  with  a  greatness  and  tenderness 
of  heart  which  few  autocratic  rulers  have  possessed  ; 
he  began  his  reign  with  an  act  of  justice  (in  freeing 
the  serfs)  the  greatness  of  which  as  the  individual 
act  of  one  man  is  equalled  but  by  one  other — the 
emancipation  by  Abraham  Lincoln — in  our  times ; 
he  is  closing  it  by  another  act  of  justice  only  less 
great — the  effort  to  free  his  co-religionists  from  the 
intolerable  oppression  of  the  Turk.  No  more  gen- 
erous or  holy  crusade  was  ever  undertaken  on  the 
part  of  a  strong  race  to  befriend  a  weak  one.  So 
all  true  Russians  believe ;  so  even  a  sceptical  for- 
eigner is  forced  to  admit  after  seeing  and  appreciat- 
ing the  sacrifices  which  the  effort  entails,  the  enthu- 
siasm with  which  these  sacrifices  are  endured,  and 
the  small  returns  which  it  brings  in  material  benefits. 
The  strong  sense  of  right  is  his  only  support ;  no 
mere  ambition  could  suffice  to  sustain  him  in  the 
terrible  trials  and  responsibilities  w^hich  his  acts  have 
brought  upon  him.  The  reorganization  of  the 
landed  system  and  of  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice, and  the  other  radical  reforms  of  the  early  part 


TJic   Tsar.  1 5 

of  his  reign,  called  forth  the  opposition  of  the  nobles 
to  such  an  extent  as  nearly  to  cost  him  his  throne ; 
and  while  this  opposition  is  hardly  yet  dead,  these 
very  reforms  have  given  rise  to  the  most  chimerical 
aspirations  and  the  most  bitter  disappointments  ;  to- 
day in  his  later  years  (he  is  the  longest-lived  by  two 
years  of  all  his  race)  his  life  is  in  constant  danger 
from  those  on  whom  he  has  conferred  such  great 
benefits,  while  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  Bulgarians 
have  excited  the  suspicion,  jealousy  and  hatred  of 
half  the  nations  of  Europe.  Weighed  down  with 
the  deepest  sense  of  the  responsibility  of  his  acts, 
keenly  alive  to  the  ingratitude  of  a  portion  of  his 
own  people,  and  to  the  taunts  and  suspicions  of 
foreigners,  his  only  consolation  must  be  in  his  pro- 
found conviction  of  right,  and  his  belief  that  the 
God  of  Justice  is  on  his  side  and  will  not  let  his 
labors  go  for  naught,  but  will  in  His  own  good  time 
give  peace  to  his  own  people,  and  happiness  to 
those  of  his  own  creed  whom  he  has  striven  to 
befriend. 


CHAPTER   II. 


THE   RUSSIAN   SOLDIER. 


The  peasant  class — or  moozJiiks — which  supplies 
the  great  body  of  Russian  soldiers,  ever  ready  to 
do  battle  for  God  and  the  Tsar,  leads  a  hard  life. 
The  peasant  is  born  in  a  little  village  composed  of 
several  hundred  log  huts  of  one  story  each  and 
thatched  with  straw,  containing  but  one  room  in 
which  a  family  of  five  or  six  persons  live,  eat,  and 
sleep,  and  a  large  part  of  whose  space  is  occupied 
by  an  enormous  flat  stove,  on  top  of  which  most  of 
the  family  pass  the  winter's  nights.  The  only  build- 
ing in  the  village  which  has  any  pretence  to  good 
appearance — the  only  one  which  to  a  person  passing 
in  a  railway  train  in  winter  denotes  the  existence  of 
a  village  at  all — is  the  village  church,  a  large  white 
structure  with  bright  green  roof  and  gilded  cupolas; 
within  it  is  a  mass  of  pictures,  heavily  gilded  and 
bejewelled  altar-pieces,  and  swinging  censers — an 
interior  calculated  to  overawe  the  imagination  by 
contrast  with  the  poverty  of  view  of  the  rest  of  the 
village.     The   surrounding  country  is  a  rolling  plain 

unbroken  in  any  direction  by  peak  or  mountain  and 

i6 


TJie  Rtissian  Soldier. 


17 


usually  destitute  of  trees,  wrapped  in  an  endless 
mantle  of  snow  for  half  the  year,  and  bright  with 
green  grass  or  yellow  wheat  for  the  other  half.  The 
railroads  are  few  in  number  and  invariably  leave  the 
villages  several  miles  on  either  side  ;  the  post  roads 
are  equally  few  and  the  post  infrequent.  There  is 
no  bustling  activity  in  the  villages,  nor  are  there 
striking  features  in  the  landscape  to  develop  the 
imagination  or  engender  habits  of  daring  or  self-re- 
liance. Everything  is  on  a  dead  level,  benumbing 
the  senses ;  the  sky  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
year  is  of  a  dull  leaden  color,  and  seems  to  bear 
upon  the  spirits  with  all  the  weight  of  lead.* 

In  this  depressing  atmosphere  the  peasant  grows 
up,  attending  schools  in  the  winter  months,  doing 
his  share  of  the  farming  of  the  commune  during  the 
summer,  listening  to  superstitious  tales  in  the  win- 
ter's evenings,  imbibing  a  religion  of  forms  and 
ceremonies,  miracles  and  superstitions,  and  know- 
ing little  of  the  outside  world  except  that  he  lives 
in  a  land  governed  by  a  ruler  of  unlimited  great- 
ness called  the  Tsar.  On  attaining  the  age  of 
twenty,  his  name  is  placed  in  the  urn  to  be  drawn 
for  military  service,  and  if  the  lot  fails  upon  him,  he 
leaves  his  village  and  is  but  little  heard  of  for  the 
next  six  years;  at  the  end  of  this  period  (if  no  war 
is  on  hand)  he  returns  to  his  village  on  permanent 
furlough  for  the  remaining  nine  years  of  his  mili- 


1 8  Arviy  Life  in  Russia. 

taiy  service,  but  liable  to  be  called  up  at  any  mo- 
ment to  rejoin  his  regiment.  At  the  age  of  thirty- 
five  his  military  service  is  over,  he  receives  his  share 
of  the  commune's  property  to  work,  marries,  builds 
himself  a  hut  like  the  others,  breeds  a  family,  works 
through  his  life,  and  dies. 

His  disposition,  character,  and  habits  are  deter- 
mined by  these  dull,  sombre  surroundings,  a  cheer- 
less climate,  monotonous  village  life,  and  a  super- 
stitious religion.  He  is  sallow  in  complexion,  lank 
in  figure,  has  straight  yellow  hair,  and  a  heavy  ex- 
pression of  face ;  he  wears  high  boots  at  all  seasons 
of  the  year,  and  dark  cloth  trowscrs  tucked  into 
them;  above  this,  in  summer,  a  bright  red  shirt 
worn  outside  his  trowsers  and  gathered  in  at  the 
waist  by  a  belt ;  on  his  head  a  slouchy  cap  with  a 
peaked  visor.  In  winter,  he  is  wrapped,  both  day 
and  night,  in  a  long  " s/niba''  or  pelisse,  of  sheep 
skin,  with  the  wool  on  the  inside,  reaching  from  his 
neck  to  his  heels,  and  his  head  is  enveloped  in  a 
woolen  "  basJilik  "  or  muffler. 

His  personal  habits  are  to  a  certain  extent  clean- 
ly, since  they  include  a  steam  bath  once  a  week, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  bath  by  no  means 
involves  a  change  of  linen,  and  his  greasy  sheep- 
skin pelisse  is  worn  half  a  lifetime.  The  sanitary 
condition  of  his  village  is  at  once  primitive  and 
filthy,  and  but   for  the   cold  winters  would  gener- 


The  Riissiajt  Soldier.  19 

ate    diseases   which  would    depopulate   whole   dis- 
tricts. 

His  diet  is  as  monotonous  as  his  life ;  once  a 
week,  or  twice  at  the  most,  he  has  meat,  fresh  beef 
or  mutton,  made  into  a  soup  or  a  stew.  Of  vege- 
tables he  has  a  variety,  but  cares  little  for  any 
of  them  except  cabbage  and  onions.  His  great 
staple  article  of  food  is  a  gruel  made  of  unbolted 
buckwheat,  called  "  kahsha^'  his  taste  for  which 
never  diminishes.  With  this  and  an  abundance  of 
heavy  black  bread,  and  an  occasional  taste  of  fish 
or  meat,  he  is  abundantly  satisfied.  His  disposition 
is  gentle  and  good-natured,  even  his  brawls  being 
of  the  maudlin  and  foolish  and  not  of  the  fighting 
character ;  he  is  as  incapable  of  taking  care  of  him- 
self as  a  child  ;  all  his  important  actions  are  deter- 
mined for  him  by  the  village  commune,  whose  open- 
air  meetings  arc  full  of  noisy  arguments,  but  from 
whose  decision  no  appeal  is  ever  thought  of.  The 
whole  nature  of  his  communistic  village  life  pre- 
cludes the  idea  of  striking  out  on  his  own  respon- 
sibility to  make  himself  independent  in  fortune; 
he  has  the  benefit  of  his  own  labor  on  the  land  al- 
lotted to  him,  but  otherwise  his  individuality  is 
completely  destroyed.  He  is  very  gregarious,  fond 
of  singing  and  of  reciting  or  listening  to  long  stories, 
and  with  all  his  sombrencss  of  character,  he  has  a 
latent  fund  of  mirth  and  humor  peculiarly  his  own. 


20  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

He  leads  a  sober,  temperate  life  for  months,  but 
celebrates  the  great  religious  festivals,  such  as 
Christmas  and  Easter,  by  a  prolonged  drunk,  un- 
dertaken apparently  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  his 
existence,  and  infuse  some  ray  of  cheerfulness  or  at 
least  of  excitement  into  his  unvaried  life.  The 
liquor  is  the  native  vodka,  a  pure  rye  brandy,  which 
does  him  but  little  harm,  and  when  the  celebrating 
is  over  he  returns  contentedly  to  his  work. 

I  do  not  know  of  anything  which  so  pithily  illus- 
trates the  submissiveness  and  dependence  of  the 
character  of  the  Russian  peasant  as  the  following 
anecdote,  related  by  Leroy-Beaulieu  in  a  recent 
number  of  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  and  which 
I  reproduce  in  full. 

A  satirical  novelette,  called  "  Two  Generals  on  an 
Island,"  was  read  to  some  peasants  one  evening  by 
the  village  schoolmaster.  A  synopsis  of  the  story 
was  as  follows :  "  Two  generals  awake  on  a  desert 
island ;  they  know  not  what  is  to  become  of  them, 
when  suddenly  they  perceive  a  moozhik  asleep. 
'Come  on,  you  lazy  fellow,'  they  cry  to  him,  'what 
are  you  doing  lying  there?  Jump  up  and  get  us 
some  dinner.'  The  peasant  obeys,  catches  a  hare, 
cooks  it  and  serves  it  for  dinner.  *  Well,'  say  the 
generals,  '  there  is  no  house  here.  Are  we  going  to 
live  in  the  open  air  like  savages?  Come,  you  idiot 
{doorak),  make  us  a  house,'  and  the  peasant  takes 


TJie  Russian  Soldier.  21 

his  axe  and  makes  them  a  Avooden  house.  Al- 
though lodged  and  fed  the  generals  tire  of  this 
isolated  life.  '  Well-bred  people  cannot  live  like 
this  on  a  desert  island.  Come,  you  loafer,  take 
your  axe  and  make  us  a  boat.'  The  peasant,  al- 
ways scolded  and  beaten,  makes  a  boat,  and,  taking 
the  oars,  rows  the  two  generals  back  to  St.  Peters- 
burg, where  they  give  him  a  rouble  for  his  pains," 

Beaulieu  continues:  "The  schoolmaster  was  asked 
what  did  the  peasants  say  of  this  story.  'They 
laughed  a  great  deal,  and  were  greatly  flattered 
that  generals  should  have  need  of  one  of  their 
like ;  it  made  them  very  proud.'  That  was  all  the 
impression  that  the  story  made  upon  them." 

The  character  thus  formed  by  his  village  life  and 
surroundings  the  peasant  carries  with  him  into  the 
army,  there  to  be  slightly  modified  by  his  new  career. 

The  first  thing  he  learns  is  unquestioning  obe- 
dience and  respect  to  his  superiors.  He  never 
meets  or  addresses  an  officer  without  standing  at 
"  attention,"  with  his  hand  at  his  cap  through  the 
whole  conversation,  and  until  the  officer  has  passed. 
He  docs  not  even  answer  a  question  with  a  direct 
"Yes,  sir,"  or  "No,  sir,"  but  with  "Quite  so  "  {Tak 
fotckcii),  or  "  Not  exactly  so  "  {nc  kak  nyci).  He  al- 
ways addresses  an  ofificer  by  his  title,  "  Your  Excel- 
lency "  for  generals,  "  Your  Illustriousness "  for 
princes    and    counts,    "Your    High    Nobility"   for 


22  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

field  officers,  "  Your  Nobility "  for  company  offi- 
cers (all  officers  of  the  Russian  army  belong  cx- 
officio  to  the  nobility).  Would  that  the  officers 
always  requited  this  never-failing  respect  with  the 
courtesy  which  should  be  its  never-failing  comple- 
ment ;  but,  unfortunately,  it  is  not  so.  There  is  a 
strong  trace  of  that  meanness  which  a  division  into 
insuperable  classes  often  engenders,  and  which  leads 
every  class  to  kick  the  one  just  below  it.  I  have 
only  too  often  heard  officers,  particularly  of  the 
lower  grades,  call  a  soldier  on  slight  provocation  a 
fool,  an  idiot,  a  dog,  a  pig,  and  follow  it  up  with 
blows.  I  have  even  seen  the  first  sergeant  knocked 
down  and  cursed  by  one  of  the  company  officers  in 
front  of  the  whole  company  in  line,  for  some  slight 
misunderstanding  of  his  instructions.  Such  cases 
are,  of  course,  rare  exceptions,  but  one  of  them 
leaves  an  impression  on  the  memory  not  easily 
eradicated  ;  and  the  deed  is  all  the  more  flagrant 
because  an  instance  of  a  soldier  striking  his  officer 
is,  so  far  as  I  know,  wholly  unheard  of. 

Yet  in  spite  of  this  humility  in  outward  forms,  it 
cannot  be  said  that  the  soldier  degenerates  into 
being  servile.  Side  by  side  with  this  unbending 
discipline,  there  exists  a  peculiar  feeling  of  good- 
fellowship  and  mutual  dependence  between  the 
officers  and  men.  The  men  arc  jovial  and  good- 
natured    among  themselves,    and   have    their    own 


The  Russian  Soldier.  23 

glee  songs  and  dances,  in  which  the  officers  are 
daily  spectators.  They  freely  discuss  the  move- 
ments of  the  campaign,  and  try  to  reason  out — • 
often  arriving  at  a  very  just  appreciation — the 
causes  and  effects  of  their  marches  and  battles. 
The  officers,  Avhen  in  good  humor,  are  always  offer- 
ing some  banter  or  jest,  and  receiving  in  turn  quite 
as  good  as  they  give — the  answers  being  never  dis- 
respectful, but  often  framed  with  very  great  clever- 
ness and  wit,  and  so  aptly  pointed  as  to  bring  down 
shouts  of  laughter  from  the  men  at  the  officer's 
expense.  As  a  specimen  of  this  sort  of  humorous 
banter,  I  may  cite  the  following  incident.  I  was  in 
the  habit  of  passing  from  one  portion  of  the  army 
to  another,  accompanied  only  by  a  Russian  dra- 
goon, who  had  been  detailed  to  me  as  an  orderly. 
One  night  we  stopped  with  some  troops  bivouacked 
in  a  village,  and  the  officer  with  whom  I  lodged 
asked  me  how  I  managed  to  make  myself  under- 
stood. "Oh!"  I  replied,"!  know  a  few  Russian 
words  and  phrases — enough  to  pick  my  way  about." 
The  officer  then  turned  to  the  dragoon  and  asked 
him  how  he  managed  to  understand  me.  The 
dragoon  put  his  head  on  one  side,  with  the  air  of  a 
modest  school-boy  possessed  of  great  knowledge, 
and  answered,  ^^  Ncmnoshko  gavarioii  pa  Amcrikan- 
sky  "   (Oh  !    I  speak  a  little  American) !  ! 

Whenever   a   commanding    officer — captain,    col- 


24  Arui}'  Life  in  Russia. 

oncl,  general,  field-marshal,  or  emperor — meets  the 
troops  under  his  own  command  for  the  first  time 
during  the  day,  his  first  act  is  to  wish  them  "  Good 
morning"  {Zdarova,  Kazansky,  Uralsky,  or  whatever 
be  the  name  of  the  regiment),  to  which  the  men 
reply  with  one  long  rolling  shout,  Zdravie  zhe- 
laion,  vass  inipcratorsky  vivcesochestvoe,  "  Your  good 
health.  Your  Imperial  Majesty  (Excellency,  or  No- 
bility, as  the  case  may  be).  When  a  general  meets 
some  troops  under  his  orders  whose  regiment  he 
cannot  at  once  distinguish,  he  salutes  them  with 
"  Good  morning,  brothers !"  {Zdarova  bratrjie.)* 
When  a  general  first  meets  his  troops  on  the  conclu- 
sion of  a  battle,  after  wishing  them  good  morning, 
he  shouts,  "  Otsebo  vam  /"  (I  thank  you,)  to  which 
the  men  answer  that  they  are  glad  to  serve  him. 

As  a  soldier,  the  Russian  is  most  strong  in  all  the 
staying  qualities,  and  weak  in    the  vivacious  ones. 

*  The  origin  of  this  habit  of  addressing  the  troops  as  brothers 
was  once  told  to  me  as  coming  from  Peter  the  Great,  whose  address 
to  his  troops  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Pultowa  was  somewhat  as 
follows:  "Brothers!  Know  that  in  the  battle  of  to-morrow  your 
Tsar  fights  among  you,  and  watches  you,  but  that  the  life  of  Peter, 
like  your  own,  is  as  nothing  compared  with  the  welfare  of  the 
country  which  we  serve  in  common."  I  imagine,  however,  that  the 
custom  could  be  traced  back  still  further  than  that,  and  is  merely 
a  peculiarity  of  the  Slav  character.  I  noticed  that  the  Bulgarians 
were  constantly  in  the  habit  of  speaking  of  themselves  or  the  Rus- 
sians as  brothers. 


The  Russian  Soldier.  25 

In  this  he  is  the  exact  opposite  of  the  French  sol- 
dier; the  latter  depends  on  his  elan,  and  the  aid 
which  his  imagination  gives  to  his  courage,  but 
once  his  cohesion  is  lost  his  imagination  only  serves 
to  destroy  his  discipline,  and  turns  everything  into 
a  wild  panic.  The  Russian,  on  the  other  hand,  has 
none  of  this  sort  of  clan  ;  he  goes  into  battle  enthu- 
siastically and  with  lively  energy,  but  not  quite  vi- 
vaciously ;  there  is  more  of  a  grim  solemnity  in  his 
manner  as  he  marches  forward  singing  lustily  the 
national  hymn,  and  thoughtless  of  his  fate.  He  is 
at  first  dull  and  slow  in  initiative  and  self-reliance ; 
and  it  is  only  after  he  has  passed  through  several 
battles  that  he  learns  by  terrible  experience  the 
knack  of  looking  out  for  himself — of  taking  ad- 
vantage of  every  shelter,  of  quickly  protecting  him- 
self by  intrenching,  and  all  the  other  little  tricks  of 
battle  which  may  save  a  man's  life  without  impair- 
ing his  efficiency  or  detracting  from  his  courage. 
He  instinctively  looks  for  orders,  and  obeys  them 
with  a  blind  instinct,  without  stopping  to  question 
their  merit ;  left  to  his  own  resources,  he  is  almost 
helpless,  and  will  often  get  killed  from  sheer  stu- 
pidity in  standing  still  and  waiting  for  an  order 
when  every  one  is  dead  who  has  the  right  to  give 
one.  But  these  same  qualities,  which  are  so  differ- 
ent from  those  of  our  own  quick-witted  volunteers, 
have  their  good  side.      The   Russian   soldier's  pa- 


26  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

ticncc  is  boundless  ;  his  endurance,  his  good-humor 
under  hardship,  his  capacity  for  fighting  on  an  emp- 
ty stomach  and  under  difficulties,  are  beyond  all 
praise,  and  will  enable  a  general  who  appreciates 
these  qualities  to  work  wonders  with  them  ;  and  he 
is  probably  the  steadiest  of  all  soldiers  under  defeat 
and  adversity.  Deprived  of  their  officers,  a  body  of 
Russian  soldiers  may  degenerate  into  a  helpless, 
inert  mass,  and  be  slaughtered  by  means  of  their 
very  cohesiveness,  but  they  will  never  take  a  panic ; 
their  history  affords  none  of  those  examples  in 
which  a  mass  of  crazy  fugitives  fly  with  a  cry  of 
"  Sauve  qui  petit  "  from  a  danger  conjured  up  by  the 
imagination  and  exaggerated  and  inflamed  by  the 
senseless  cries  of  others. 

His  faith  is  simple  and  childlike ;  in  the  one 
phrase  of  "  God  and  the  Tsar "  is  summed  up 
nearly  all  his  religion  and  his  philosophy  of  life. 
God  will  take  care  of  him  hereafter  and  the  Tsar 
so  long  as  he  lives.  When  his  battles  result  in  de- 
feats, when  his  biscuits  are  full  of  maggots,  when 
his  clothing  is  made  of  shoddy,  when  his  boots  drop 
to  pieces,  he  reasons  it  out  slowly,  and  can  only 
come  to  the  conclusion,  so  pathetic  in  its  simple 
faith,  "Ah!  if  the  Tsar  only  knew!"  Every  one 
within  his  reach  he  freely  discusses,  criticizes  and 
blames ;  he  half  suspects  that  his  generals  may  be 
fools,  and  he  is  sure  that  his  commissaries  are  ras- 


The  Russian  Soldier,  27 

cals,  but  no  thought  of  censure  ever  crosses  his 
mind  against  the  Tsar.  He  never  for  an  instant 
doubts  that  the  Tsar  is  his  best  friend,  and  would 
correct  all  these  evils  if  only  he  knew  of  them.  But 
alas !  he  reasons,  the  Tsar  cannot  know  everything, 
and  so  there  is  no  help  for  him  ;  he  goes  on  doing 
his  duty  faithfully,  bravely  and  patiently,  hoping 
that  at  some  day  and  in  some  way,  he  knows  not 
how,  things  will  go  better. 

The  regimental  and  company  officers  possess 
many  of  the  solid  stubborn  qualities  of  the  soldiers, 
but  in  the  great  mass  of  the  army  they  are  deficient 
in  the  higher  attainments  necessary  to  direct  these 
qualities  in  such  a  way  as  to  derive  the  full  benefit 
of  them.  In  the  regiments  of  the  guard  the  officers 
are  gentlemen  of  polished  address,  familiar  with  the 
life  of  courts  and  capitals  gained  in  constant  travel 
through  Europe,  speaking  several  languages  fluently, 
and  are  possessed  of  a  wide  variety  of  knowledge  if 
none  of  it  is  profound.  In  the  regiments  of  the 
line — the  great  body  of  the  army — this  superficial 
elegance  and  smattering  of  knowledge  is  quite  lack- 
ing, though  it  is  partly  made  up  by  a  greater  famil- 
iarity with  the  technical  duties  of  their  profession. 
It  is  no  wonder  that,  in  an  army  requiring  over 
25,000  officers,  and  in  a  country  where  education  as 
a  science  has  only  just  begun  to  flourish,  it  should  be 
difficult  to  find  enough  men  possessing  what  we  are 


28  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

accustomed  to  look  upon  as  the  necessary  qualifica- 
tions for  an  officer.  The  lack  of  initiative,  which 
forms  no  great  demerit  among  soldiers  if  their 
ofTicers  are  equal  to  every  emergency,  is  a  terrible 
defect  among  the  officers  themselves.  The  ready 
grasp  of  a  new  problem,  the  energy  and  "  enter- 
prise "  which  are  so  common  in  America,  particularly 
where  it  is  fostered  as  in  the  western  States  by  life 
in  a  new  country  and  habits  of  independence  and 
resource,  find  no  counterpart  in  Russia;  and  hence 
we  see  their  officers  when  placed  in  a  novel  situation 
letting  things  take  their  own  course,  regardless  of 
consequences,  until  they  at  last  learn  how  to  deal 
with  it.  If  40,000  prisoners  are  thrown  suddenly  on 
their  hands,  as  at  the  surrender  of  Plevna,  no  better 
expedient  presents  itself  than  to  herd  them  out  in 
the  snow  in  great  flocks  like  sheep,  and  let  three 
days  pass  before  they  get  anything  to  eat,  and 
twelve  days  before  measures  are  perfected  for 
marching  them  to  the  Danube,  only  twenty  miles 
off — the  prisoners  meanwhile  perishing  by  hundreds 
every  night.  If  a  bridge  forming  part  of  the  main 
line  of  communication  of  a  great  army  is  constructed 
across  a  large  river,  one  end  of  it  leading  into  a 
miserable  little  town  with  streets  so  narrow  that  two 
vehicles  can, not  pass,  you  do  not  find  the  lines  of 
opposing  travel  so  clearly  marked  out  that  there  can 
be  no  divergence  from  them,  and  men  stationed   at 


The  Russian  Soldic7\  29 

every  corner  to  compel  vehicles  to  take  a  certain 
direction,  but  you  see  two  long  lines  of  small  supply 
wagons  gradually  approaching  each  other  until  they 
become  jammed  and  blocked  in  the  middle  of  the 
town,  and  several  hours  and  even  a  day  or  more  are 
occupied  in  unloading  a  half  a  mile  of  wagons  and 
dragging  them  out  backwards  in  order  to  re-open 
the  communication  ;  and  these  are  things  which  do 
not  occur  only  during  the  first  days  or  weeks  but 
throughout  a  whole  campaign  of  months. 

The  essential  characteristic  of  the  whole  class  of 
Russian  officials  or  "  Tchinovniks  "  is  their  clumsiness, 
joined  to  a  centralization  whose  multiplicity  of  re- 
ports and  papers  defies  all  belief  or  comprehension 
and  supplemented  only  too  often  by  the  most  petty 
tyranny.  Instead  of  straightening  things  out  by 
his  own  ready  wit  on  his  own  responsibility,  the 
official  is  either  content  to  let  them  take  their 
course,  shrugging  his  shoulders  with  an  air  of  laissez- 
faire  and  satisfied  that  the  responsibility  rests  not 
with  himself  but  with  the  official  next  above  him, 
or  else  wasting  the  time  that  should  be  devoted  to 
action  in  an  excited  discussion  with  one  of  his  sub. 
ordinates  as  to  what  should  be  done  or  how  things 
came  to  be  in  such  a  condition. 

Any  large  army  must  always  represent  with  very 
considerable  fidelity,  the  nation  from  which  it  is 
drawn,    and    Russia's   geographical   position,  back- 


30  Arjuy  Life  in  Russia. 

^vardness  in  mechanical  invention,  and  the  dense 
ignorance  Avhich  still  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts 
towards  education  pervades  the  peasant  class,  con- 
stitute difficulties  in  her  way  as  a  military  nation 
which  it  is  impossible  to  overcome  by  any  amount  of 
numbers,  mutual  organization,  or  bravery.  Its  only 
remedy  lies  in  time  and  the  advance  in  civilization. 

At  the  close  of  a  long  conversation  about  America, 
a  Russian  officer — an  ardent  admirer  of  our  country 
like  many  of  his  compatriots — said  with  a  sigh, 
"Ah  !  my  friend,  you  fortunate  people  have  not  the 
middle  ages  at  your  back."  The  middle  ages  are 
close  to  Russia,  and  she  finds  it  hard  to  separate  her- 
self from  them. 

Peter  the  Great  was  the  first  Tsar  who  broke  with 
the  traditions  of  the  past,  and  the  key  of  his  whole 
system  is  found  in  his  saying  that  he  built  his  town 
of  St.  Petersburg  "  as  a  window  to  let  in  the  light 
of  Europe."  Many  of  his  successors,  with  minds 
only  less  great  and  wills  almost  as  indomitable  as 
his  own,  have  struggled  to  bring  their  people  for- 
ward, but  usually  on  the  same  principle  as  Peter's, 
of  introducing  and  adapting  foreign  ideas  rather 
than  of  stimulating  the  development  of  native  ones; 
at  one  time  French  ideas  have  predominated,  at 
another  time  German,  and  although  in  the  present 
reign  the  development  has  been  more  of  a  pure 
Russian    type,   yet    at    all    times    the   progressive 


The  Russian  Soldier.  31 

reforms  have  been  forced  upon  the  people  from 
above  downward,  instead  of  sprhiging  from  their 
own  wants  and  necessities,  and  spreading  upwards. 
In  this  respect,  the  progress  of  Russia  has  been 
exactly  the  opposite  of  our  own  in  America.  Start- 
ing from  a  small  but  self-thinking  and  self-depend- 
ent sect  in  the  highest  civilization  of  their  day,  and 
absolutely  rejecting  everything  in  that  civilization 
which  could  not  maintain  itself  as  specially  adapted 
to  our  own  wants,  we  have  gradually  evolved  a  form 
of  national  life  and  habits  peculiarly  our  own,  and 
peculiarly  adapted  to  our  requirements,  and  have 
constructed  a  government  which  at  once  gives  the 
widest  scope  to  individual  action,  and  the  greatest 
average  measure  of  comfort,  knowledge,  and  hap- 
piness to  every  one,  without  pre-eminent  examples 
of  learning,  science  or  art,  on  the  one  hand,  or  of 
pauperism  and  degradation  on  the  other.. 

In  Russia,  on  the  contrary,  the  classes  are  sep- 
arated by  immense  gulfs,  and  above  them  all  is  the 
Tsar,  attempting  the  herculean  task  of  dragging 
eighty  millions  of  people  forward,  rather  against 
their  will  than  with  their  assistance,  and  in  the 
manner  which  he  considers  best  for  them,  without 
asking  them  to  think  much  about  it  for  themselves. 

Among  the  numerous  dissertations  incident  to 
the  recent  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  present 
Emperor's   accession   to   the   throne,  the  following 


32  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

appeared  in  the  Golos,  one  of  the  most  thoroughly 
representative  of  Russian  newspapers,  and  one 
which,  far  from  being  a  court  journal  or  govern- 
ment organ,  has  suffered  greatly  from  the  penalties 
inflicted  by  the  censorship.  It  says :  "  Strangers 
have  trouble  in  understanding  the  bond  which 
unites  the  Tsar  to  Russia ;  it  comes  from  the  fact 
that  our  national  life  has  been  developed  under 
different  conditions  from  those  in  the  west  of  Eu- 
rope. With  us  the  sovereign  is  venerated  as  the 
anointed  of  the  Lord,  in  the  biblical  sense  of  this 
term,  and  the  statute  itself  takes  care  to  impose  on 
all  his  subjects  the  obligation  *  to  obey  him  not  only 
from  fear  but  from  a  sense  of  conscientious  duty.' 
While  in  western  Europe  the  Church  has  often  been 
in  conflict  with  the  State,  with  us  the  orthodox  re- 
ligion is  closely  united  to  the  Emperor.  Finally, 
whereas  in  the  west  all  the  great  political  reforms 
have  been  conquered  by  the  people  from  the  sec- 
ular power ;  with  us,  on  the  contrary,  all  the  re- 
forms have  emanated  from  the  sovereign  power. 
It  is  the  Emperor  who  has  always  guided  the  na- 
tion on  the  path  of  progress ;  which  explains  why 
the  Russian  people  have  never  ceased  to  regard  the 
Tsar  as  a  father,  attentive  to  the  welfare  of  his  chil- 
dren. It  is  in  this  collection  of  ideas  that  the  love 
of  the  people  for  their  sovereign  takes  its  origin. 
There  arc  no  sacrifices  which   the  nation  will  not 


TJie  Russian  Soldier.  33 

cheerfully  undergo  at  the  command  of  the  well- 
beloved  monarch.  The  people  rejoice  in  the  joys 
of  their  Emperor ;  they  weep  in  his  sorrows ;  they 
have  with  him  but  one  thought,  one  sentiment,  and 
one  will." 

The  above  is  a  perfectly  accurate  analysis  of  the 
national  life  of  Russia,  and  the  relations  between 
the  Tsar  and  his  subjects.  I  am  well  aware  that 
recent  events  seem  to  contradict  it  in  toto,  but  the 
contradiction  is  apparent  and  not  real.  It  is  en- 
tirely foreign  to  my  subject  to  attempt  to  give  any 
account  of  Nihilism,  even  were  it  possible — which  I 
doubt — for  any  foreigner  to  thoroughly  explain  it. 
It  springs  from  the  peculiar  nature  of  Russian  de- 
velopment ;  from  certain  moody,  visionary  traits  of 
character,  with  which  the  readers  of  Tourguenieff's 
novels  are  familiar ;  from  the  general  unsettling  of 
ideas,  caused  by  the  vast  social  changes  made  in 
the  present  reign,  and  from  some  concrete,  well- 
founded  grievances  against  the  high-handed  tyranny 
of  the  political  secret  police,  or  "  Third  Section." 
But  although  the  Nihilists  arc  recruited  from  every 
section  of  the  upper  and  middle  classes,  yet  the 
most  extravagant  estimate  which  has  ever  been 
formed  of  their  numbers  does  not  place  them  at 
more  than  a  third  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
population.  They  no  more  represent  Russian  so- 
ciety at   large   than    the    Socialists    represent    Ger- 


34  ^inny  Life  in  Russia. 

many,  the  Communists  France,  or  Kearneyites 
America.  They  have  not  changed  in  any  manner 
whatever  the  opinions  or  character  of  the  mass  of 
the  Russian  people  of  all  classes,  and  they  have 
achieved  a  noisy  prominence  only  by  reason  of 
their  desperate  deeds  and  of  the  inability  of  these 
same  police  of  the  "  Third  Section  "  to  cope  with 
them. 

But  the  point  to  which  I  would  call  particular 
attention  is  that  in  Russia  "  all  the  reforms  have 
emanated  from  the  sovereign  power."  It  is  in  this 
way  that  not  only  has  the  country  been  developed, 
but  the  character  of  its  people  been  formed  ;  and 
we  find  them  to-day  docile,  obedient,  strong  in  en- 
durance, lacking  in  initiative  and  individuality, 
receptive  rather  than  creative  ;  their  very  thoughts 
are  furnished  to  them,  and  they  expect  to  be  told 
what  they  need,  instead  of  reasoning  it  out  for 
themselves  ;  their  capacity  for  individual  thought 
is  repressed  not  stimulated,  and  they  must  read 
only  what  is  deemed  good  for  them ;  as  the  Tsar  is 
their  father,  so  are  they  in  very  truth  children,  and 
the  sturdy,  self-reliant  manhood  which  is  developed 
by  the  responsibility  of  self-government  is  unknown 
in  their  midst.  The  great  mass  of  the  Russians  of 
all  classes  thus  remain  in  easy-going,  contented 
tranquility  of  mind,  following  in  the  path  which  has 
been    marked   out    for   them,  and    not  desiring   to 


The  Russian  Soldier.  35 

deviate  from  it  ;  while  from  time  to  time  certain 
restless  spirits,  finding  no  legitimate  outlet  possible 
for  their  activity,  imbibing  certain  western  ideas, 
but  incapable  of  practically  testing  them,  because 
of  their  own  inexperience  and  of  the  system  of 
repression  which  forbids  their  ideas  from  being 
made  public,  brood  in  secret  only  to  bring  forth 
those  miserable  outbreaks  which  have  nothing 
better  to  propose  than  anarchy,  murder,  and  nihil- 
ism or  nothingness.  They  strike  at  the  Tsar,  not 
from  personal  animosity  as  against  a  tyrant,  but 
because  he  is  the  head  of  society  ;  and  they  have 
nothing  to  propose  but  the  annihilation  of  all  the 
existing  forms  of  society  because  the  great  body  of 
the  people  is  unalterably  attached  to  them. 

Were  their  ideas  exposed  to  the  cold  analysis  of 
the  public  they  would  be  combatted  and  over- 
thrown ;  were  the  people  treated  more  as  full-grown 
men,  responsible  for  their  opinions,  these  ideas 
would  never  come  into  existence,  for  they  are  the 
offspring  of  minds  distorted  and  inflamed  by  the 
command  not  to  think — under  pain  of  punishment  ; 
but,  paradoxical  as  it  appears  to  us,  it  is  none  the 
less  a  fact  that  the  great  body  of  Russians  cling  to 
this  system  of  repression  more  tenaciously  than  the 
Tsar  himself.  They  do  not  desire  to  have  it 
changed  except  as  he  deems  fit,  and  in  the  manner 
which  he  judges  most  expedient. 


CHAPTER  III. 


SHIPKA     PASS. 


As  soon  as  I  had  had  time  to  return  to  Bucharest, 
and  purchase  certain  articles  which  were  necessary 
for  my  camp  outfit,  I  availed  myself  of  the  permis- 
sion tendered  by  the  Emperor  and  joined  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  Commander- 
in-chief  of  the  Russian  Forces  in  Bulgaria.  Both 
the  Emperor  and  the  Grand  Duke  then  had  their 
headquarters  in  the  same  village  (Gorni-Studen), 
on  opposite  sides  of  a  ravine.  The  Grand  Duke 
lived  in  much  the  same  style  as  the  Emperor, 
although  somewhat  plainer;  his  suite  was  smaller, 
his  table  more  meager,  and  his  service  made  of  iron 
lined  with  porcelain  instead  of  silver  lined  with 
gold. 

I  had  been  there  but  two  days,  when  at  dinner  in 
the  evening,  a  message  was  brought  in  to  the  Grand 
Duke  Avhich  caused  him  to  break  off  a  jovial  con- 
versation, and  hastily  write  something  in  pencil  for 
the  chief  of  staff,  who  immediately  left  the  table. 
The  Grand  Duke  is  of  an  entirely  different  tem- 
perament from  his  brother,  the  Emperor ;  responsi- 

36 


SJiipka  Pass.  37 

bility  seemed  to  rest  as  light  as  air  upon  his  broad 
shoulders.  He  was  ever  jovial,  ever  in  good  humor. 
Throughout  the  whole  campaign  this  v/as  the  one 
occasion  when  he  manifested  anxiety.  But  there 
was  no  doubt  he  was  very  anxious  now.  The  hum 
of  conversation  of  the  fifty  or  sixty  officers  present 
at  dinner  ceased,  and  there  was  a  painful  silence — 
every  one  waiting  to  hear  what  the  news  was.  In  a 
few  minutes,  to  relieve  the  suspense,  the  Grand  Duke 
read  out  the  despatch  in  Russian  ;  it  was  translated 
for  mc  by  my  neighbor  at  table,  and  was  to  the 
effect  that  the  troops  in  Shipka  Pass,  consisting  of 
only  2,000  Russians  and  3,000  Bulgarian  Militia,  had 
been  fighting  all  that  day  (August  21st)  with  the 
Turkish  army  of  Suleiman  Pasha,  numbering  about 
30,000 ;  that  so  far  they  had  held  their  own,  defeat- 
ing the  Turkish  assaults,  but  the  battle  was  still 
going  on  and  its  issue  was  at  least  doubtful. 

The  dinner  soon  broke  up,  and  the  Grand  Duke 
with  his  chief  of  staff  retired  at  once  to  his  tent, 
instead  of  walking  about  as  usual,  chatting  with 
the  officers  and  listening  to  the  music  of  the  band. 
Returning  to  my  own  tent  I  found  that  my  neigh- 
bor, I\Iajor  Von  Licgnitz,  the  military  attache  of 
Germany,  was  preparing  to  start  for  Shipka  in  the 
morning.  It  needed  but  a  moment's  reflection  for 
mc  to  determine  to  do  likewise.  I  went  back  to 
headquarters  to  ask  the  Grand   Duke's   permission, 


38  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

got  an  order  for  a  Cossack  to  accompany  me  as  an 
orderly,  came  back  and  packed  a  few  necessary 
articles  in  my  saddle  bag  and  went  to  sleep.  We 
were  off  before  five  o'clock  the  next  morning,  and 
took  the  most  direct,  but  not  the  main  road,  to 
Shipka  Pass,  distant  nearly  eighty  miles.  Liegnitz 
was  familiar  with  the  country  from  having  passed 
over  it  during  the  previous  month  with  Gourko. 
The  heat  was  excessive,  absolutely  compelling  us  to 
lie  over  for  a  couple  of  hours  at  noon. 

The  portion  of  Bulgaria  through  which  our  route 
jay  is  as  lovely  a  bit  of  agricultural  land  as  the 
earth  affords.  Gently  rolling  hills,  separated  by 
brooks  or  small  streams  of  pure  cold  water,  and 
covered  with  corn,  wheat,  barley,  or  vines,  with 
bunches  of  dark  elms  and  oaks  interspersed  here 
and  there,  and  patches  of  grass  with  flocks  of  sheep 
grazing  on  them — it  was  everywhere  as  gentle  and 
pastoral  a  scene  as  could  be  imagined.  The  huts  of 
the  inhabitants  were  congregated  in  little  villages, 
three  or  four  miles  apart,  there  being  no  isolated 
houses  except  now  and  then  a  "  tchiftlik,"  or 
country  place  of  some  Bey,  with  so  many  buildings 
around  it  as  to  form  almost  a  village  in  itself.  In 
the  fields  the  men  were  reaping  and  gathering  the 
grain  ;  in  the  villages  the  women,  in  bright  pictur- 
esque clothing,  were  occupied  in  threshing.  This  was 
being  done  according  to  the  methods  current  in  the 


Shipka  Pass.  39 

time  of  Moses.  In  the  yard  of  each  hut  was  a 
smooth,  well-beaten  and  baked  floor  of  earth,  with  a 
post  in  the  center.  To  this  post  a  half  dozen  little 
ponies  without  shoes  were  attached  by  a  cord,  and 
were  driven  round  and  round  through  the  pile  of 
grain.  In  another  yard,  a  rickety  old  cart  without 
tires  on  the  wheels,  loaded  with  weights  and  drawn 
by  a  pair  of  oxen,  replaced  the  ponies  as  threshers  ; 
in  another  the  threshed  grain  was  being  thrown  into 
the  air  with  a  wooden  shovel,  the  wind  blowing 
away  the  chaff  as  the  grain  fell. 

As  I  stood  watching  these  primitive  and  prime- 
val operations,  my  mind  wandered  back  to  Califor- 
nia, and  my  imagination  tried  to  conjure  up  what 
would  be  the  expression  of  one  of  these  heavy- 
faced  peasants  if  transplanted  to  the  San  Juaquin 
valley,  and  brought  face  to  face  with  a  six-horse 
mower-reaper-and-thresher,  moving  over  an  im- 
mense field  of  standing  grain,  loading  its  bins  with 
the  same  grain  ready  for  sacking,  and  accomplish- 
ing more,  with  the  same  animal  power,  in  a  day, 
than  these  people  in  two  months. 

We  passed  the  night  in  one  of  these  villages, 
sleeping  on  the  porch  of  the  "  Starshina,"  or  elder 
of  the  village.  Although  ready  to  pay  for  every- 
thing with  good  gold  and  silver,  it  was  only  by  dint 
of  threats  and  blows  that  we  obtained  food  for 
our  horses.     There  was  everywhere  the  cunning  of 


40  Arviy  Life  in  Russia. 

affected  stupidity,  which  answers  all  questions  with 
other  questions,  finally  endinij  in  the  reply  of  "don't 
know."  Every  man  watched  his  neighbor,  every 
one  ready,  no  doubt,  to  betray  his  neighbor  should 
the  fortune  of  war  bring  the  Turks  into  the  village, 
and  every  one  fearing  the  arrival  of  this  fortune 
and  betrayal.  A  more  uninviting  race  on  casual  ac- 
quaintance than  the  Bulgarian  peasants  can  hardly 
exist ;  centuries  of  oppression,  extortion,  misrule, 
and  injustice,  have  apparently  deadened  every  sense 
of  manly  independence  and  straightforward  cour- 
age, and  replaced  them  with  the  low  cunning  and 
duplicity,  which  are  commonly  attributed  to  the 
Jews. 

On  the  morning  of  the  second  day  we  reached 
the  edge  of  the  Balkans,  joined  the  main  road,  and 
passed  through  miles  of  artillery  and  supply  wagons 
and  troops,  hastening,  forward  as  re-enforcements, 
alternating  w'ith  other  miles  of  fugitives,  fleeing 
across  the  mountains  from  before  the  Turkish  ad- 
vance. The  latter  formed  a  motley  collection,  old 
and  young,  men,  women,  children  and  babes,  carts 
and  wagons,  buffaloes,  oxen,  horses  and  jackasses, 
pieces  of  bedding,  tables  or  other  household  furni- 
ture, gathered  together  in  every  variety  of  form — 
stopping,  gypsy  fashion,  in  a  field  along  side  the 
road  to  rest,  or  moving  on  in  a  long  caravan  they 
knew    not   whither,    but    certain    that    every   step 


SJiipka  Pass.  41 

widened  the  distance  between  them  and  the  dread- 
ed, hated  Turk. 

In  the  afternoon,  we  came  within  sound  of  the 
guns  booming  away  upon  the  mountain,  and  as  we 
crossed  a  ridge,  saw  the  sm.oke  curling  up  through 
the  trees  in  the  distance.  Then  we  descended  into 
a  valley  and  reached  the  town  of  Gabrova,  where 
the  peasants  were  stolidly  standing  about  the  cor- 
ners or  in  the  coffee  shops,  staring  at  the  troops  as 
they  marched  past,  or  at  some  mounted  messen- 
ger striving  to  make  good  speed  over  the  slippery 
broken  pavement  of  the  crooked  little  streets.  Here 
we  met  a  Cossack  officer  with  his  squadron,  which 
had  been  in  the  fight  the  day  before ;  he  had  an 
acquaintance  with  Liegnitz,  and  gave  us  two  horses 
in  place  of  our  own,  which  were  exhausted  and 
were  left  behind  with  our  Cossack  orderlies.  With 
our  fresh  mounts,  and  the  insufferable  Cossack  sad- 
dles, we  pushed  on  rapidly  up  the  mountain,  and 
reached  the  field  about  four  o'clock. 

Shipka  Pass  is  not  a  pass  at  all,  or  at  least  not  a 
gorge  or  defile.  It  is  a  long,  gently  sloping  cross 
spur  of  the  Balkans,  up  and  over  which  a  fine  high 
road  has  been  built,  passing  its  highest  point  at  an 
altitude  of  nearly  five  thousand  feet  above  sea-level. 
On  either  side  of  the  spur  arc  deep,  precipitous  val- 
leys, heading  at  the  base  of  the  main  range,  and 
beyond  them   are  other  parallel  spurs.     The  Rus- 


42  An/ij'  Life  in  Russia. 

sians  were  on  a  few  knolls  at  the  top  of  the  road  on 
the  central  spur;  the  Turks  were   in  front  of  them 
and  overlappintj  them  on  either  side  along  the  par- 
allel spurs,  and  completely  commanding  their  posi- 
tion from   three   directions.     We  wound  along  the 
road   up  the  hill,  passing  batteries  of  artillery  with 
double  teams  striving   to  pull   up  the  guns ;  alter- 
nating with  these  were  battalions  of  infantry,  many 
a  man  of  whom  had  but  a  few  hours  to  live,  but 
whose  only  thought  now  seemed  lo  be  the  intense 
heat  and  the  fatigue  of  the  climb.     Then  we  came 
to  a  collection  of  immense  soup-kettles  which  had 
just  arrived,  and  were  being  set  up  on  the  side  of 
the   road   to  cook    some   supper  for  the   men ;    the 
cooks  were  busy  with  their  preparations,  or  standing 
about  in  their  shirtsleeves,  joking  with  the  troops  as 
they  passed.     Half  a  mile  further  on  were  the  tem- 
porar>-  hospitals,  three  or  four  tents  pitched  on  the 
side   of  the   road,  sending   forth   painful  groans   or 
screams ;  a  line  of  stretchers  supplying  the  patients 
on  one  side,  and  a  line  of  ambulances  on  the  other, 
carrying  them  down  the  mountain  after  their  wounds 
had  been  dressed  or  operated  upon.     From  here  on, 
the    sharp,    incessant    rattle    of    the    musketry  was 
plainly  distinguishable   among    the  more  intermit- 
tent booms  of  cannons,  and  from  the  lines  of  smoke 
curling  up  through  the  trees  we  began  to  make  out 
the  positions  of   the  opposing   troops.      We    soon 


SJiipka  Pass.  43 

arrived  among  the  Russians,  and  Liegnitz  advised 
dismounting  and  leaving  our  horses  behind  tlie 
sheher  of  a  little  knoll,  while  we  made  our  way  for- 
ward on  foot.  From  this  knoll  we  turned  into  some 
bushes  and  met  two  officers  making  their  way  back, 
and  telling  us  not  to  go  ahead,  we  could  not  pass 
there.  We  kept  on  quietly,  and  in  a  few  yards 
came  out  of  the  bushes  into  the  open,  on  a  narrow 
bit  of  road  completely  commanded  by  a  cross-fire 
from  the  Turks.  Along  this  road  was  the  only  way 
to  reach  the  main  Russian  position  in  advance  of 
us.  We  walked  along  rapidly,  the  bullets  singing 
and  whistling  about  our  ears  and  scattering  the  dust 
on  our  feet ;  I  "  ducked  "  my  head  at  the  sharpest 
whistles,  as  one  instinctively  does  until  he  finally 
learns  by  experience  that  there  is  no  use  of  dodg- 
ing, for  the  bullet  whose  sound  you  hear  has  al- 
ready passed  you,  and  you  will  never  hear  the  whiz 
of  the  one  that  strikes.  This  little  piece  of  open 
road  was  not  over  three  hundred  yards  long,  and 
we  were  across  it  in  half  that  number  of  seconds. 
Once  passed,  we  came  under  the  shelter  of  a  little 
knoll  or  ridge  about  fifteen  feet  high,  along  the  base 
of  which  ran  the  road,  and  on  the  crest  of  which 
was  a  line  of  Russians  blazing  away  with  all  their 
might  at  the  Turks  a  few  hundred  yards  in  front  of 
them.  It  was  the  third  day  of  the  hard,  unequal 
fight,     just  here,  a  few  hours  before,  the  Russians 


44  Ar)ny  Life  in  Rjtssia. 

had  grown  discouraged  with  the  great  odds  against 
them,  and  the  exhaustion  incident  to  sixty  hours  of 
fighting,  almost  without  food  or  water;  their  officers 
had  been  nearly  all  killed,  and,  mistaking  a  large 
number  of  wounded  making  to  the  rear  for  a  gen- 
eral retreat,  they  had  begun  gradually  to  turn  back, 
when  they  were  stopped  by  the  determined  energy 
and  courage  of  a  certain  Colonel  Lipinsky;  and,  as 
good  fortune  would  have  it,  were  just  rallying  when 
the  vanguard  of  the  re-enforcements  came  trotting 
up  the  road  on  Cossack  horses,  and  dismounting 
and  joining  them,  succeeded  in  driving  back  the 
Turks,  who  had  nearly  reached  the  crest  of  this 
little  hill.  The  hot  fight  at  this  particular  place  had 
been  going  on  for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  had  now 
turned  definitely  in  favor  of  the  Russians,  and  the 
Turks  were  rapidly  retreating  across  the  little  valley 
in  front  of  them.  In  half  an  hour's  time  the  firing 
began  to  lull,  except  the  long-range  shots  of  the 
Turks  from  the  woods  in  the  opposite  spur,  whose 
bullets  went  whistling  away  over  our  heads,  but 
doing  no  harm. 

We  sat  down  on  the  reverse  slope  of  this  little 
hill,  and  learned  from  the  commanding  general  the 
details  of  the  fighting  of  this  and  the  preceding 
days.  We  were  soon  joined  by  General  Radetzky, 
the  commander  of  the  Eighth  Corps,  who  had  ar- 
rived on  the  field  a  few  minutes  before  us,  and  had 


Shipka  Pass.  45 

been  engaged  in  that  preliminary  survey  of  the 
ground.  By  virtue  of  his  seniority  he  assumed 
command  of  all  the  troops  present. 

Meanwhile  a  few  troops  continued  arriving  as 
re-enforcements.  They  were  huddled  together  as 
compactly  as  possible  under  the  slight  shelter  af- 
forded by  the  little  hill,  until  the  arrival  of  night, 
when  they  could  be  moved  forward  into  other  posi- 
tions. 

The  desultory  firing  continued,  and  an  hour  or 
more  later  the  sun  went  down  behind  the  moun- 
tains on  the  west,  and  simultaneously  a  grand  full 
moon  came  over  the  peaks  in  the  east.  It  was  one 
of  those  scenes  which  print  themselves  indelibly  on 
the  memory.  A  rugged  chain  of  mountains,  cov- 
ered with  deep  forests  tinged  with  the  peculiar 
greenish  tint  of  the  moonlight,  and  surrounded  by 
deep  gorges,  across  which  the  shadow  of  some  pro- 
jecting rock  was  thrown  with  startling  clearness  of 
outline  ;  a  cloudless  sky,  warm  summer  air,  and  the 
stillness  of  mountain  solitude,  interrupted  at  in- 
tervals by  a  momentary  pop-pop  of  some  sharp- 
shooter across  the  ravine,  or  by  the  rumble  of  artil- 
lery wheels,  or  the  groan  of  some  sufferer  nearer  at 
hand — it  had  all  the  elements  of  striking  contrast 
necessary  for  the  highest  artistic  effect. 

All  the  troops  having  arrived  which  might  be  ex- 
pected before  morning,  they  were  roused  from  the 


46  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

fragmentary  slumber  which  they  were  seizing  in  the 
midst  of  the  road,  unmindful  of  the  wheels  which 
passed  hardly  a  foot  from  their  heads,  and  were  led 
forward  quietly  around  the  point  of  our  little  hill, 
and  along  the  open  road  toward  the  advanced 
Russian  position  on  another  rocky  hill  called  St. 
Nicholas. 

The  moon  betrayed  us  at  once,  and  immediately 
the  two  Turkish  hills  on  either  side  were  all  ablaze 
with  little  lines  and  specks  of  fire  as  in  an  exhibi- 
tion of  fire-works ;  the  long,  sharp  rattle  of  the 
muskets  alternated  with  the  occasional  deeper  boom 
of  a  field-piece,  quickly  followed  by  the  peculiar 
rushing  scream  of  pieces  of  shrapnel ;  and  all  these 
sounds  went  echoing  and  reverberating  down  the 
gorges,  while  along  the  woods  on  either  side  sharp 
lines  of  transitory  flame  were  darting  about  like 
meteors.  It  was  a  beautiful  sight — beautiful  in  the 
sense  that  a  terrible  storm  at  sea  on  a  bright  sunny 
day  is  beautiful,  when  one  stands  near  the  stern  and 
watches  the  rich  green  bend  of  the  wave  just  before 
it  breaks,  then  the  snowy  foam,  and  the  angry  snarl 
of  the  water  as  it  surges  past  the  rudder  —  the 
deck  pointing  one  minute  into  the  very  base  of  a 
mountain  of  water,  and  the  next  into  the  sky  it- 
self ;  and  then  a  sudden  thud  and  tremor,  when 
the  mind  wonders  whether  this  pigmy  of  a  ship 
will   hold    her   own    against   the   mighty  forces   of 


Shipka  Pass.  /ij 

nature.  It  was  beautiful,  as  all  strong  sensations, 
unmixed  with  vice,  are  beautiful,  and  particularly 
when  surrounded  with  strange  unusual  effects  of 
nature. 

It  was  an  hour  or  more  before  the  troops  had  all 
been  posted  ;  then  Liegnitz  and  myself  quietly 
walked  back  to  find  our  horses  and  pick  out  some 
place  to  sleep.  No  troops  being  in  sight,  the  Turks 
were  perfectly  quiet  ;  hardly  a  shot  was  fired  as  we 
walked  back  along  the  whole  position  for  about  two 
miles ;  the  stillness  was  almost  oppressive,  and  the 
bright  light  of  the  moon  was  most  weird.  We 
found  our  horses,  shoved  their  noses  into  a  pile  of 
hay  belonging  to  an  artillery  battery,  feeling  sure 
that  they  would  not  move  before  morning,  and  we 
were  soon  in  a  profound  slumber  on  the  side  of  the 
road. 

I  was  awakened  by  Major  Liegnitz  tugging  at  my 
clothing  and  exclaiming,  "  Voila  !  V affaire  rccom- 
vtencey  The  sun  was  just  visible,  rising  above  the 
woody  tops  of  the  mountains  toward  a  cloudless 
sky,  and  the  Turks  had  saluted  its  appearance  by  a 
rousing  fusillade  from  all  sides.  It  was  an  ani- 
mated reveille.  The  whole  mountain  sides  were 
enveloped  in  smoke,  through  which,  but  not  so 
distinctly  as  in  the  moonlight  of  the  evening, 
the  lines  of  flame  marking  the  muzzles  could  just 
be   seen.     We   got   up   and   crossed  the  road  to  a 


48  Armj'  Life  in  Russia. 

little  clump  of  rocks  from  which,  with  our  glasses,  a 
large    part    of    the    mountains   could    be   seen,  and 
there    we    watched    the    beautiful    sunrise    and    its 
strange  '  attendant    surroundings.      Nothing   devel- 
oped itself,  however.     The  Turks  were  merely  giv- 
ing  a   morning    salute    from    behind    their  woods, 
firing  across  the  ravines  at  the  Russian  positions  in 
general,  but  at  nothing  in  particular.     An  hour  or 
two    later  a   battalion   of    infantry  came    marching 
along  the  road,  and  turning  into  a  little  open  space 
near  us,  it  stacked  arms.     It  was  the  advance  guard 
of   the   Fourteenth    Infantry    Division,    the   troops 
who  had  led  in  the  passage  of  the  Danube,  and  the 
rest  of  the  division  was  not  far  behind  them  on  the 
road.     With  this  battalion  came  General  Dragomi- 
roff,  the  commander  of  the  division,  a  stout  person 
wearing  spectacles  and  having  the  general  appear- 
ance of  a  German   professor,   although  very  quiet 
and    undemonstrative    in    manner.      He    sat    down 
with  us  on  the  rocks,  and  Liegnitz,  who  had  been 
with  him  at  the  passage  of  the  river  and  formed  his 
acquaintance  there,  explained   to  him  the  position 
of  the  troops,  the  events  of  the   past  three  days, 
and  the  general  condition  of  affairs.     In  this  way  a 
considerable  time  was  passed,  during  which  a  few 
more  of  his  troops  continued  to  arrive.     He  then 
made  certain  dispositions  of  them — sending  a  por- 
tion across  the  ravine  on  our  right,  and  leading  the 


Shipka  Pass.  49 

rest    forward   to  the  hills  where  we  had  been  the 

previous  day — first,  however,  relieving  our  personal 

anxiety  concerning  food  by  sharing  with  us  a  large 

piece  of  cold  mutton,  some  white  bread,  and  a  flask 

of  brandy. 

The  troops  fell  in,  took  their  arms,  and  moved  out 

in  column   of   fours   along  the   road ;   Liegnitz  was 

asked  to  pilot  the  head  of    the  column   in   order  to 

avoid  as  much  as  possible  of  the  ugly  open  space  of 

road  so  exposed  to  the  Turks  ;  the  General  with  his 

staff  and  myself  rode  at  the  rear   of    the  column. 

Just  after  the  leading  portion  of   the  column  had 

turned  a  clump  of  rocks  and  came  out  in  the  open, 

the  Turks  discovered  them  and  let  go  their  fire.     It 

was  very  nearly  a  volley  of  about  two  thousand  or 

more  pieces  (nearly  all,  fortunately,  aimed  a  little  too 

high),  and  the  number  of  bullets  was  so  great  that 

the  individual  whistle  of  each  was  swallowed  up  in 

a  general  rushing  sound  as  of  a  sudden  gust  of  wind 

just  preceding  a  shower.     The  effect  on  the   men 

was  most  comical  ;    they  all  toppled  in  succession 

like  a  pile  of  bricks  towards  the  rocks  whose  shelter 

they   had    just    passed.      The    General    and    other 

officers  sung  out  to  them  something  like  "  What  are 

you   about,  you  geese  ? "  and   the    men    recovered 

themselves,  looked   at   each   other  and   grinned    as 

men  do  on  an  escape  from  danger,  and  turning  again 

in  the  direction  of  the  advance,  moved  forward  with- 
3 


50  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

out  tlic  slic^litcst  furtlier  deviation,  though  a  very 
considerable  number  were  hit  before  we  got  across 
to  the  shelter  of  the  hill.  Arrived  there,  the  men 
were  massed  under  the  reverse  slope  to  await  fur- 
ther orders,  while  General  Dragomiroff  was  met  by- 
General  Darozhinsky,  who  invited  him  to  come  up 
to  the  eastern  point  of  the  little  hill,  whence  he 
could  show  him  a  good  bird's  eye  view  of  the  whole 
position.  In  dismounting,  Liegnitz  and  myself  had 
a  little  trouble  in  inducing  the  Cossack  orderly  to 
hold  our  horses,  he  having  already  nearly  as  many 
as  he  could  attend  to.  In  this  way  we  were  delayed 
two  or  three  minutes  ;  we  then  began  climbing  the 
hill  towards  the  point  where  the  others  were  stand- 
ing in  a  group,  fifty  or  sixty  yards  in  front  of  us. 
Just  then  we  saw  two  of  the  group  stagger,  and 
running  forward  we  met  General  Dragomiroff  and 
his  chief  of  staff,  both  of  whom  had  been  hit  only 
a  moment  after  they  showed  themselves  on  the 
point  of  the  hill.  Dragomiroff  was  shot  in  the  knee, 
and  the  other  in  the  upper  part  of  the  thigh.  Boots 
were  cut  off,  a  stretcher  hailed,  tourniquets  applied 
to  stanch  the  bleeding,  both  smiled  with  an  effort 
and  said  they  felt  comfortable,  and  then  moved  off 
on  their  stretchers  to  the  field  hospital — one  to  die 
the  next  day,  and  the  other  to  endure  the  torture  of 
a  journey  of  thousands. of  miles  swung  on  his  back, 
and  to  hobble  through  life  with  a  crooked  knee  and 


Ship k a  Pass.  5 1 

a  heavy  cane.  It  was  all  an  affair  of  so  few  minutes, 
and  yet  so  decisive  to  them  individually.  It  repre- 
sented fairly  the  touch-and-go  nature  of  war  and  of 
a  soldier's  life,  and  the  lack  of  melodramatic  ele- 
ments (as  a  rule)  in  modern  war  since  the  invention 
of  long  range  muskets.  A  man  lives  to  the  age  of 
forty-five  years,  and  the  grade  of  Major  General, 
without  ever  being  under  fire.  He  then  commands 
the  advance  guard  at  the  passage  of  a  river,  and 
with  success.  In  his  second  fight  he  arrives  quietly 
on  the  field,  goes  to  take  a  view  of  the  position,  and 
is  immediately  knocked  over.  There  is  no  charging, 
no  close  combat,  no  hot  blooded  excitement,  every 
one  is  as  cool  as  if  we  were  a  party  of  tourists,  tak- 
ing a  first  look  at  a  fine  bit  of  mountain  scenery. 
It  is  an  affair  of  a  minute,  and  for  the  rest  of  his 
days  there  is  no  more  battle,  no  more  commanding 
troops  in  action,  of  which  he  has  been  thinking  these 
twenty-five  years,  no  more  active  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession (as  a  lawyer's  practice  is  active  when  he 
argues  a  great  cause,  or  a  merchant's  when  he  docs  a 
great  stroke  of  business),  nothing  but  hobbling 
through  life  and  teaching  military  science  to  junior 
officers.     And  it  happened  all  by  such  a  chance  ! 

Such  scenes  are  every-day  scenes  in  war ;  they  are 
as  old  as  war  itself;  they  arc  the  essential  charac- 
teristic of  any  one's  experience  in  war — but  they 
sharpen  one's  wits,  and,  during  them,  minutes  count 


52  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

as  years  of  ordinary  existence  in  developing  the 
faculities. 

As  the  two  stretchers  moved  down  the  hill  and 
we  turned  to  watch  the  fighting  again,  poor  General 
Darozhinsky  was  much  troubled  in  his  mind ;  he 
had  invited  them  to  the  position  where  they  had 
been  hit,  and  in  a  measure  felt  responsible  for  their 
misfortune.  He  little  imagined  that  he  would  be 
dead  before  either  of  them,  A  dozen  rods  from 
the  same  spot,  the  next  morning  about  sunrise  he 
was  sitting  on  the  ground,  drinking  a  glass  of  tea, 
and  fancying  himself  under  shelter.  A  "plunging 
bullet  entered  his  left  side,  and  he  was  dead  before 
the  tea  fell  from  his  hands.  Such  is  war,  and  yet 
soldiers,  like  other  people,  fancy  that  they  have 
some  share  in  shaping  their  own  lives  and  direct- 
ing their  fate. 

We  watched  the  battle  throughout  the  greater 
part  of  the  day.  There  was  a  short  but  vigorous 
assault  on  the  Russian  left  at  Mount  St.  Nicholas 
about  noon,  but  for  the  rest  of  the  time  the  fir- 
ing was  desultory.  The  Turks  had  wasted  their 
strength  in  ineffectual  assaults,  and  the  first  part 
of  the  four  months'  fighting  around  these  moun- 
tain tops  was  over.  Liegnitz  and  myself  hastened 
back  to  headquarters  in  order  to  be  in  time  for  the 
grand  affair  at  Plevna,  which  was  daily  expected. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


PLEVNA. 


The  name  of  Plevna  has  ground  itself  into  his- 
tor}\  Full  twenty  thousand  men  died  fighting  on 
the  pretty  vine-clad  hills  which  surround  the  little 
town,  and  nearly  three  times  that  number  there 
found  wounds,  the  effects  of  which  they  will  carry 
through  the  rest  of  their  shortened  lives.  It  was 
the  scene  of  one  of  the  great  sieges  of  history,  ac- 
companied with  many  bloody  battles,  and  it  is 
almost  the  synonym  of  the  latest  and  fiercest  of 
the  many  wars,  incident  to  the  settlement  of  the 
Eastern  question. 

The  town  is  made  up  of  about  a  thousand  houses, 
situated  on  wandering,  crooked  little  streets,  such  as 
only  a  Turkish  town  affords.  Seen  from  the  hills 
from  which  we  watched  it  so  long,  it  was  a  little 
clump  of  red-tiled  roofs  and  whitewashed  walls,  with 
half  a  dozen  staring  white  minarets  raised  above 
the  surrounding  roofs,  and  in  the  suburbs  a  large 
Christian  church,  with  much  green  paint  on  the 
roof   and  a  collection  of  gilded  crosses  above  the 

cupolas.     It  nestles  in  a  little  valley  at  the  junction 

53 


54  Ar7ny  Life  in  Russia. 

of  two  meandering  brooks,  which  unite  at  its  lower 
end,  and  after  a  couple  of  miles  discharge  into  a 
river  about  three  feet  deep  and  two  hundred  feet 
wide  at  ordinary  seasons.  On  the  west  of  this  river, 
as  seen  from  the  bluffs  on  its  eastern  bank,  the  eye 
discovers  nothing  but  a  treeless  plain,  although  in 
traveling  over  it  it  is  found  to  be  undulating  ;  on 
the  east  the  hills  rise  abruptly  to  the  height  of  seven 
or  eight  hundred  feet,  and  their  crest  at  this  altitude 
surrounds  the  town  in  a  radius  of  five  to  six  miles, 
the  surface  of  this  circle  being  broken  into  deep 
ravines  by  the  brooks  above-mentioned  and  their 
branches. 

The  place  has  no  military  importance  beyond  that 
belonging  to  any  junction  of  two  high-roads  and  a 
few  smaller  ones.  At  the  declaration  of  war  it  was 
an  ordinary  agricultural  town  ;  the  surrounding  hills 
were  planted  in  corn  and  wheat  and  vines,  and  the 
inhabitants  led  that  life  of  comparative  peace — wait- 
ing for  the  opportunity  to  arrive  when  their  smoul- 
dering hate  should  break  out  into  violence  against 
each  other — which  is  characteristic  of  all  mixed 
Mohammedan  and  Christian  towns  in  Turkey. 
The  events  of  the  war  brought  a  Turkish  army  to 
the  place  and  forced  it  to  defend  it  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity; this,  in  turn,  forced  the  Russians  to  con- 
centrate their  whole  energy  upon  its  capture ;  and 
both  sides  followed  out  their  necessities  to  the  bit- 


Plevna.  55 

ter  end.  Three  times  in  the  space  of  seven  weeks 
the  Russians  attempted  to  take  it  by  the  brute  force 
of  an  open  assault,  only  to  be  each -time  defeated 
with  ever-increasing  slaughter.  Then  they  turned 
their  efforts  to  hermetically  sealing  it  up  from  the 
outside  world,  and  finally  starved  it  out.  The  third 
and  most  bloody  of  these  assaults — that  of  Septem- 
ber nth — I  witnessed  from  the  batteries  which  con- 
tributed their  share  towards  it,  and  it  is  of  this  one 
that  I  shall  try  to  give  a  sketch. 

On  the  4th  of  September  the  headquarters  of  the 
Ninth  Corps,  commanded  by  General  Krudener, 
with  whom  I  was  sojourning,  were  moved  from  one 
little  village  to  another  about  ten  miles  east  of 
Plevna.  Then  a  halt  Avas  made,  the  preparations 
for  the  advance  not  yet  being  completed,  and  the 
whole  of  the  5th  and  of  the  6th  were  passed  in  the 
nervous  inaction  of  awaiting  the  development  of 
events.  They  were  cold,  rainy  days ;  nobody  had 
more  than  the  shelter  of  a  tent-fly,  and  few  had 
that ;  the  sutlers  moved  about  from  point  to  point 
doing  a  thriving  business ;  the  officers  ate  prodig- 
iously and  drank  freely;  there  was  everywhere  a 
forced  but  boisterous  gayety.  At  sunset  on  the 
evening  of  the  6th  the  troops  were  formed  and 
moved  forward.  They  had  only  a  few  miles  to  go, 
but  the  night  was  dark  and  the  road  obstructed. 
The  troops  marched  short  distances  only  to  halt  for 


56  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

long  intervals  and  lie  down  in  the  road  for  a  nap, 
while  the  officers  sat  nodding  on  their  horses.  After 
a  while  the  general  and  his  staff  rode  forward  to  the 
head  of  the  column.  Some  five  hundred  men  were 
here  working  silently  but  most  vigorously  with  their 
picks  and  spades,  while  others  were  placing  gabions, 
fascines,  and  platforms  in  position.  A  regiment 
had  been  thrown  forward  about  half  a  mile  in  ad- 
vance as  skirmishers  and  pickets  to  cover  the  con- 
struction of  the  battery,  and  the  ear  listened  nerv- 
ously to  hear  their  first  shot.  But,  save  the  hurried, 
muffled  noise  of  the  spades  and  earth,  no  sound  was 
audible.  Soon  after  midnight  the  battery  was  com- 
pleted, the  eight  siege-guns  hauled  into  position, 
the  ammunition  stored  in  some  sort  of  bomb-proofs, 
the  troops  disposed  on  either  flank,  and  everything 
was  ready  for  the  morning.  The  general  rode  back 
a  few  hundred  yards,  and  we  dismounted  and  dozed 
there  till  daylight.  As  the  day  broke  the  whole 
Turkish  position  was  in  front  of  us,  a  couple  of 
miles  away.  On  our  right  was  a  high,  rounded  hill, 
whose  green  slopes  culminated  in  a  low,  brownish 
mound,  which  we  knew  at  once  to  be  the  great 
Krishin  redoubt.  Curving  from  this  as  an  apex,  on 
either  side  of  the  town,  the  lines  of  fortifications 
could  be  dimly  made  out  in  the  twilight  of  dawn. 
Not  a  soul  seemed  to  be  stirring.  The  sun  rose  in 
a  clear  sky,  and   the   lines   became  plainly  distin- 


Plevna.  57 

guishable,  and  off  on  our  left,  on  the  brow  of  the 
Radishevo  ridge,  was  also  seen  the  freshly-turned 
earth  of  the  Russian  batteries.  At  six  o'clock  there 
was  an  explosion  from  the  battery  in  front  of  us, 
followed  by  the  vibrating  scream  of  the  shell,  the 
sound  of  which  gradually  diminished  in  the  dis- 
tance ;  eleven  seconds  afterwards  a  cloud  of  dust 
was  thrown  up  from  the  Krishin  parapet,  and 
greeted  by  a  loud  hurrah  from  the  Russian  troops. 
Immediately  the  parapet  was  lined  with  black  dots, 
a  hundred  or  more  men  jumping  up  to  see  what 
had  happened,  and  a  second  later  a  horse  galloped 
out  from  the  redoubt  towards  the  village,  carrying, 
doubtless,  a  messenger  to  headquarters.  The  Turks 
are  notoriously  bad  watchmen  ;  a  line  of  batteries 
had  been  built  under  their  nose,  and  nearly  ninety 
thousand  men  had  gathered  in  front  of  them  during 
the  night  without  their  pickets  firing  a  shot;  and 
apparently  their  first  intimation  of  what  had  trans- 
pired was  derived  from  this  90-pounder  messenger  of 
iron  which  had  dropped  in  upon  them.  But  they 
were  not  long  in  answering.  Hardly  a  dozen  shots 
had  been  fired  from  the  various  Russian  batteries 
before  a  puff  of  smoke  curled  up  from  the  Krishin 
parapet,  and  we  saw  the  shell  explode  a  long  way 
in  front  of  us.  The  second  or  third,  however,  fell 
squarely  on  the  parapet,  throwing  the  dirt  in  the 
faces  of  the  Russian  gunners,  and  one  not  long 
3* 


58 


Ari/iy  Life  in  Russia. 


afterwards  dropped  in  the  bushes  near  our  group, 
and  caused  us  to  move  back  to  a  more  advantageous 
point  of  observation.  The  guns  answered  one  an- 
other from  every  point  of  the  two  lines,  and  the 
ball  was  fairly  opened. 

It  continued  throughout  the  whole  of  this  and 
the  three  succeeding  days  and  nights,  and  grew 
monotonous.  There  were  tentative  infantry  skir- 
mishes here  and  there,  developing  almost  into  a 
battle  at  one  point,  but  the  characteristic  feature 
of  these  four  days  was  the  cannonade.  We  watched 
it  for  hours  with  the  glasses  until  our  eyes  grew 
dim ;  saw  the  dust  of  the  exploding  shells  time 
after  time  in  the  very  midst  of  the  redoubts,  and 
received  the  same  in  our  own.  The  symmetry  of 
the  nicely-made  Turkish  Avorks  was  sadly  marred, 
and  one  gun  after  another  seemed  to  be  silenced ; 
but  the  fire  ever  broke  out  in  a  new  place,  and  still 
the  stout  piles  of  earth  forming  the  parapets  re- 
mained in  place  and  warned  the  Russians  that  they 
could  still  give  a  murderous  reception.  The  as- 
saults had  been  originally  intended  for  the  9th,  but 
were  postponed  from  day  to  day  in  the  hope  of 
their  being  made  easier  by  the  hammering  of  the 
artillery ;  but  the  dirt  parapets  were  as  uninviting 
as  ever.  The  Grand  Duke  and  his  staff  arrived  and 
rode  through  all  the  batteries.  Prince  Charles,  of 
Roumania,  the  nominal  commander  of  the  asscm- 


Plevna.  59 

bled  troops,  was  daily  on  hand.  The  Emperor  and 
his  suite  drove  on  to  the  field  in  barouches  every 
morning,  mounted  their  horses,  and  rode  to  one  or 
another  advantageous  point  of  view ;  assembled  at 
noon  for  a  hearty  lunch  al  fresco,  and  at  dusk  drove 
back  to  his  headquarters  at  a  village  some  ten  miles 
in  rear. 

The  thing  began  to  drag.  We  rode  from  day  to 
day  from  one  end  of  the  line  to  the  other,  we  for- 
eigners and  newspaper  correspondents  (of  which 
there  were  nearly  twenty  on  the  field)  meeting  at 
this  point  or  that,  and  as  we  constantly  discovered 
some  new  line  of  Turkish  trench  or  battery  which 
we  had  not  previously  seen,  our  bright  enthusiasm 
of  the  first  morning  began  to  wane,  and  the  dull, 
gloomy  suspicion  forced  itself  upon  us  that  this  was 
to  be  no  holiday  affair,  deciding  the  war  at  a  sin- 
gle blow,  but  a  terrible  battle,  with  the  odds  enor- 
mously against  the  chance  of  Russian  success. 

Finally,  the  assaults  were  fixed  for  September 
nth,  the  Emperor^s  name-day.  Four  days'  inces- 
sant bombardment  had  silenced  nearly  all  the  Turk- 
ish guns,  which  were  far  inferior  in  numbers  and 
weight  to  those  of  the  Russians;  but  it  had  also 
shown  that  the  carthcrn  parapets  were  practically 
but  little  injured,  and  that  they  would  be  in  the 
same  condition  if  bombarded  for  four  weeks  or 
months.      Nevertheless,  it  was  necessary  to  begin 


6o  Ar})iy  Life  in  Russia. 

some  time,  and  wliat  better  day  tlian  this?  They 
have  a  sentimental  fancy  in  Russia  for  anniversaries. 
For  example,  the  negotiations  for  the  treaty  of  San 
Stefano  were  allowed  to  drag  on,  through  Turkish 
procrastination,  for  nearly  five  weeks,  and  were  then 
brought  to  a  conclusion  in  two  or  three  days,  in 
time  to  be  signed  on  the  3d  of  March  (February 
19th,  O.  S.),  the  anniversary  both  of  the  Emperor's 
accession  and  of  the  signing  of  the  ukase  freeing  the 
serfs.  The  nth  of  September  (August  30th,  O.  S.) 
is  the  feast-day  of  St.  Alexander  Nevsky,  one  of  the 
most  famous  saints  in  the  Russian  calendar,  and 
therefore  the  feast-day  also  of  all  who  bear  the 
name  of  Alexander.  What  more  graceful  compli- 
ment to  the  Emperor,  who  had  come  to  encourage 
his  men  by  sharing  the  hardships  of  the  campaign, 
than  to  link  his  name  with  that  of  the  great  decisive 
battle  of  the  war,  and  to  give  him  a  great  victory  as 
a  name-day  present? — as  General  Sherman  offered 
the  city  of  Savannah  to  Mr.  Lincoln  for  a  Christmas 
gift  in  1864. 

During  the  night  of  the  loth  the  rain  fell  in  tor- 
rents ;  this  was  succeeded  by  a  fog  and  mist  so 
dense  that  it  was  hard  to  tell  when  day  broke,  and 
when  our  watches  told  us  it  must  be  broad  daylight, 
nothing  could  be  seen  at  the  distance  of  a  few  hun- 
dred yards.  Nearly  all  the  regiments  had  left  their 
knapsacks  and   shelter-tents  at  the  villages  where 


Plevna.  6i 

they  had  bivouacked  a  few  days  before,  and  had 
nothing  with  them  but  their  muskets,  cartridges, 
overcoats,  and  a  small  amount  of  rations.  The 
men  awoke  cold,  wet,  and  stiff ;  the  ground  was 
covered  with  a  slimy  paste  of  mud ;  the  air  was 
raw  and  damp.  It  was  altogether  a  most  dismal 
day. 

The  assaults  had  been  fixed  for  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  were  to  be  preceded  by  an  elab- 
orate artillery  programme,  which,  however,  was  alto- 
gether disconcerted  by  the  fog.  Early  in  the  morn- 
ing a  sharp  rattle  was  heard  through  the  mist  from 
Skobeleff's  position,  off  on  the  left ;  and  the  troops 
in  the  center  became  involved  in  a  very  brisk  affair, 
in  which  they  lost  over  two  thousand  men  without 
any  advantage  whatever.  The  Emperor  arrived 
before  noon,  and,  with  the  Grand  Duke,  Prince 
Charles,  and  their  numerous  suites,  took  up  a  very 
advantageous  position  (had  there  been  no  fog)  on  a 
hill  near  the  right  of  the  Russian  lines,  from  which, 
on  a  clear  day,  the  whole  position  could  be  very  dis- 
tinctly seen. 

The  fog  lifted  and  settled  again  during  the  day ; 
the  artillery  burst  forth  from  time  to  time,  occa- 
sionally mingled  with  the  rattling  from  the  picket 
lines;  the  men  lay  in  the  mud,  behind  the  shelter 
of  the  various  hills  and  ridges,  chatting,  joking,  and 
making  as  merry  as  possible  in  their  dismal  surround- 


62  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

ings.  At  three  o'clock,  on  every  part  of  the  line 
the  troops  were  formed  and  moved  forward,  grouped 
in  three  principal  columns  for  assault  on  three 
specified  points.  In  company  with  some  German 
newspaper  correspondents,  I  selected  a  good  point 
of  observation,  a  few  yards  from  the  batteries  on 
the  left  of  the  Radishcvo  ridge,  and  nearly  at  the 
center  of  the  whole  line,  and  we  watched  the  assault 
at  that  point.  The  hill  on  which  we  stood  was  fully 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  higher  than  the  Turkish 
redoubt  known  as  No.  lo  on  the  Russian  maps,  and 
•about  two  thousand  five  hundred  yards  from  it. 
The  hill  sloped  gently  from  us,  and  completely 
overlooked  the  whole  basin — filled  with  redoubts 
and  batteries — to  the  commanding  ridge  of  Krishin, 
opposite  to  us,  and  about  three  miles  distant. 
While  the  guns  redoubled  their  activity,  firing  with 
the  utmost  rapidity  and  a  deafening  racket,  the 
infantry  slowly  filed  past  us  in  column  of  platoons, 
the  men  looking  serious,  but  not  sad,  and  crossing 
themselves  and  muttering  their  prayers  incessantly 
as  they  passed  the  brow  of  the  hill  and  moved  down 
the  slope.  When  they  arrived  at  the  base  of  it  they 
were  under  the  shelter  of  a  little  ravine,  and  the 
redoubt  (No.  lo)  lay  on  their  left,  and  about  fifteen 
hundred  yards  from  them,  the  greater  part  of  this 
distance  being  nearly  level,  or  sloping  gently  up  to 
the  redoubt,  part  of  it  covered  with  standing  corn, 


Plevna.  ()7^ 

and  part  of  it  (the  greater  part)   entirely  open,  the 
corn  having  been  cut. 

The  troops  composing  this  particular  column 
numbered  six  battalions,  or  about  five  thousand 
men ;  when  they  reached  the  little  ravine  just  men- 
tioned, they  halted  and  lay  down  for  a  few  minutes 
of  rest ;  then  they  turned  by  the  left  flank,  and, 
leaving  one  battalion  in  reserve,  moved  forward  in 
line,  the  center  battalion  being  in  company  column. 
They  were  not  long  in  coming  on  the  brow  of  the 
slope  leading  to  the  redoubt,  and  in  full  view  of  it. 
They  moved  forward,  preserving  a  fair  alignment, 
steadily,  slowly,  grandly.  Nothing  can  be  finer  as  a 
mere  spectacle  than  the  sight  of  a  line  of  troops 
moving  forward  with  blind,  unthinking  obedience 
and  faith  into  battle. 

They  were  fully  twelve  hundred  yards  from  the 
Turkish  redoubt  when  the  smoke  began  to  curl  up 
along  the  line  of  its  parapet,  and  the  pop,  pop,  of 
its  muskets  gradually  increased  in  sound  till  it  re- 
sembled the  drummers'  long  roll.  The  fog  had 
partly  lifted,  and  the  redoubt,  as  well  as  other  parts 
of  the  field,  could  be  fairly  well  seen  ;  the  Russians 
answered  back  at  the  Turks  and  still  kept  advanc- 
ing. The  columns  on  either  side  of  us  were  by  this 
time  also  fully  engaged,  the  din  was  very  consider- 
able, and  the  smoke  was  beginning  to  collect  in 
low  dense  clouds,  gradually  drifting  across  the  land- 
scape, before  the  wind. 


64  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

The  Russian  line  gradually  moved  on  ;  to  us 
above  them,  and  some  distance  on  one  side,  the 
rate  of  progress  seemed  terribly  slow,  but  it  never 
halted.  Individual  men  could  be  seen  running  for- 
ward, firing  and  falling  ;  a  few  others  in  the  rear 
moving  back,  throwing  up  their  arms  and  falling, 
but  the  main  line— a  black,  irregular,  waving  band, 
of  which  the  individuals  could  only  be  distin- 
guished by  the  glass — still  stretched  across  the 
stubble-field,  and  still  moved  on.  Finally  they  had 
passed  half  the  space  from  the  little  ravine  to  the 
redoubt,  and  then  they  stopped  and  lay  down,  and 
the  firing  increased  in  rapidity.  A  few  minutes 
later  they  got  up  again,  the  center  battalion  now 
deployed  in  line,  and  again  moved  forward.  They 
were  soon  so  near  the  redoubt  that  the  batteries 
near  us  ceased  firing  for  fear  of  injuring  their  own 
men  ;  the  gunners  leaned  on  their  pieces  watching 
their  comrades  below,  and  the  silence  in  our  neigh- 
borhood was  oppressive,  although  the  more  distant 
noise  became  ever  louder  and  more  boisterous. 
Finally  the  line  of  Russians  seemed  to  be  within 
only  one  hundred  or  two  hundred  yards  of  the  re- 
doubt ;  the  line  could  be  seen  to  break  into  a  run, 
and  then  all  was  lost  in  a  confused  mass  of  smoke, 
through  which  the  fire  from  the  muzzles  leaped 
back  and  forth  from  end  to  end  of  the  parapet,  like 
flashes  of  lightning,  and  out  of  which  was  heard  the 


Plevna.  65 

sharp,  continuous  rattle  of  the  muskets,  but  no 
individual  sound.  It  was  the  critical  moment  ; 
nothing  was  in  sight  but  the  cloud  of  smoke,  and 
we  held  our  breath  in  suspense  awaiting  the  result. 
j\Iy  God !  they  are  coming  back  !  Black  dots  began 
to  emerge  from  the  smoke,  increasing  in  numbers, 
until  it  was  seen  to  be  the  whole  line,  confused  and 
irregular,  but  still  intact,  gradually  moving  back  to 
the  rear.  The  sound  of  shouts  came  through  the 
smoke,  and  now  the  fire  of  the  Turks  seemed  to 
increase  with  the  fury  of  hell  itself.  As  the  smoke 
partly  blew  away,  the  parapet  seemed  made  of 
sheets  of  flame ;  and  outside  of  the  redoubt  there 
was  a  regiment  or  more  of  Turks  fighting  in  the 
open,  and  still  others  behind  them  climbing  the 
slope  from  the  direction  of  Plevna.  And  now  a 
mass  of  black  objects  were  seen  streaming  over  the 
parapet  at  one  corner,  jumping  and  running  forward 
toward  the  retreating  Russians.  The  Turks  were 
following  up  their  victory.  But  this  lasted  but  a 
few  minutes.  The  Russian  line  stopped,  turned, 
lay  down,  and  sent  back  a  greeting  of  death  as 
warm  as  that  which  they  were  receiving.  It  was 
but  a  second  before  the  Turks  were  swarmintr  back 
into  their  redoubt  as  rapidly  as  they  had  come  out. 
Then  the  Russians  got  up  and  continued  their 
retreat — a  few  running,  but  the  great  mass  steadily 
walking  in  a  confused  line,  stopping  now  and  then 


66  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

to  return  the  fire.  As  they  retreated,  the  battahon 
Avhich  had  been  left  in  reserve  came  hurrying  for- 
ward at  a  run,  but  it  was  a  bagatelle  in  strength, 
and  merely  joined  their  comrades  and  returned 
with  them.  The  whole  lot  were  soon  back  under 
the  shelter  of  the  ravine  again.  It  was  a  little  over 
thirty  minutes  since  they  had  left  it  to  advance ; 
and  fifteen  hundred  of  their  number  now  lay  in  the 
furrows  among  the  corn-stalks.  The  Turkish  hur- 
rahs came  echoing  over  the  field  ;  their  men  stood 
defiantly  on  the  parapet  ;  the  Russians  sat  ex- 
hausted and  bewildered  under  the  shelter  of  their 
little  ravine  ;  the  firing  simmered  down  to  a  few 
scattered  shots  ;  soon  it  ceased  altogether,  and  was 
succeeded  by  the  stillness  of  death,  in  painful  con- 
trast to  the  noise  of  a  few  minutes  before.  The 
stubble-field  was  covered  here  and  there  with  black 
objects.  Three  of  these  were  noticed  to  rise,  and 
two  began  to  run  ;  then  the  firing  recommenced  ; 
thousands  of  bullets  came  chasing  after  these  three 
lone  objects ;  first  one  threw  up  his  hands  and 
plunged  headlong  on  his  face,  then  the  other;  the 
third  went  on  at  a  walk,  defiantly,  with  head  erect, 
swinging  his  arms  ;  then,  either  losing  his  nerve,  or 
stung  with  a  bullet,  he  began  to  run,  but  before  he 
had  gone  ten  steps  he  too  fell  headlong.  Every- 
thing was  quiet  again,  and  over  the  whole  field  not 
an  object  moved. 


Pletma.  6y 

Meanwhile,  the  distant  firing  continued  uninter- 
ruptedly on  both  sides  of  us,  but  we  could  make 
nothing  of  it  through  the  fog  and  smoke,  and  our 
hearts  were  too  sick  with  what  we  had  just  seen  to 
feel  much  interest  in  it.  If  nothing  could  be  finer 
than  their  advance  half  an  hour  ago,  certainly  noth- 
ing could  be  sadder  than  the  sight  before  us  now. 
Brave  men  had  done  their  best,  one  in  four  giving 
up  his  life  in  the  effort,  but  they  could  not  accom- 
plish the  impossible.  They  came  slowly  up  the  hill 
again  to  where  we  stood,  their  faces  sad  but  not 
panic-stricken,  filed  down  the  reverse  slope,  stacked 
arms,  and  lay  down  to  sleep,  overcome  with  fatigue 
and  bewilderment. 

As  they  passed  by  us,  another  disjointed  attack 
was  going  on  against  the  same  redoubt  by  other 
troops  off  to  our  left.  The  assaults  were  not  simul- 
taneous, and  the  Turks  had  only  to  turn  to  the 
other  side  of  their  work  to  drive  back  this  more 
easily  than  they  did  the  first,  for  it  was  not  pushed 
so  far.  The  line  was  withdrawn,  the  fire  slackened, 
and  darkness,  smoke,  and  fog  gradually  settled  over 
the  whole  field.  The  sun,  which  never  shone,  had 
set  on  the  Emperor's  name-day,  and  his  name-day 
gift  was  only  a  roll  of  five  thousand  killed  and  ten 
thousand  wounded  of  his  own  subjects,  without 
counting  the  losses  of  his  gallant  young  allies,  the 
Roumanians,  who  had  borne  the  principal  part  in 


68  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

the   assault  on  our   right   against   the   Krishin  re- 
doubt. 

I  turned  my  horse  down  the  hill  and  met  a  party 
of  English  correspondents  and  the  English  military 
attache,  who  had  witnessed  the  same  struggle  as 
myself  from  a  point  a  few  hundred  yards  to  the 
left ;  leaving  them,  I  rode  rapidly  over  to  the  Em- 
peror's point  of  observation.  On  my  way  I  met  the 
younger  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  who  eagerly  ques- 
tioned me  for  information,  and  then  galloped  on  to 
relate  it  to  his  father.  When  I  came  up  the  elder 
Grand  Duke  was  standing  at  the  steps  of  the  Em- 
peror's carriage.  As  the  Emperor  returned  my 
salute,  I  got  a  good  look  at  his  face ;  his  expression 
was  sad  and  very  thoughtful,  but  still  dignified.  It 
seemed  simply  as  if  he  had  an  unusual  load  of  care 
in  addition  to  that  which  his  face  habitually  gave 
signs  of.  The  two  brothers  kissed  on  the  cheek 
after  the  Russian  fashion,  and  the  Emperor  drove  ofT, 
followed  by  the  carriages  and  cavaliers  of  his  suite, 
and  the  half-wild,  grotesquely-dressed  Cossacks  of 
his  escort.  What  must  have  been  his  thoufjhts 
during  this  ten  miles'  drive  in  the  drizzling  rain 
and  darkness  !  Fortunately,  being  but  a  man,  he 
could  not  realize  it  all.  Could  he  feel  the  measure 
of  his  misfortune  in  the  same  proportion  that  a  cap- 
tain of  a  company  in  that  death's  hollow  near  him 
felt  his,  the  weight  of  it  would  grind  him  to  powder. 


Plevna.  69 

I  dismounted  as  the  Emperor  drove  off,  and  the 
Grand  Duke  beckoned  to  me,  took  my  arm,  and 
walked  a  few  steps  to  one  side,  saying  in  English, 
"  Come,  tell  me  what  is  this?"  It  seemed  that  I 
was  the  first  officer  to  arrive  from  that  part  of  the 
field  which  I  had  witnessed.  I  told  him,  in  short, 
what  I  had  seen — that  the  assault  had  been  most 
gallant,  but  had  totally  failed ;  that  the  losses  could 
not  be  less  than  twenty-five  per  cent. ;  that  the  fail- 
ure was  due  to  a  lack  of  ensemble  in  the  attacks ;  and 
that  everything  was  now  quiet,  the  Turks  making 
no  signs  of  taking  the  offensive.  He  listened  in- 
tently, asking  a  few  questions,  and  then,  noticing 
that  his  staff  had  gathered  around  us,  terminated 
the  conversation  by  remarking,  "  Beautiful  evening, 
is  it  not?"  (the  rain  had  just  begun  falling  rapidly) 
and  moved  off. 

Near  by  were  a  dozen  carriages  belonging  to  the 
Grand  Duke  and  some  of  his  staff.  The  rest  of  the 
officers  and  the  headquarter  escort  had  nothing  but 
their  overcoats.  Some  Cossacks  were  sent  off  to 
the  stacks  of  grain  piled  on  the  sides  of  the  hill,  and 
bringing  it  in,  they  made  a  bonfire,  and  we  gathered 
around  it.  At  that  time  the  news  from  the  Krishin 
redoubt  was  that  three  desperate  assaults  had  been 
made  by  the  Roumanians,  assisted  by  a  Russian 
brigade,  and  that  all  three  had  been  repulsed  with 
great  loss.     From  the  center,  the  news  was  what  we 


•JO  Aruty  Life  in  Russia. 

have  seen.  From  Skobclcff,  away  off  on  the  ex- 
treme left,  the  latest  information  was  several  hours 
old  ;  it  was  to  the  effect  that  he  had  carried  one  of 
the  redoubts  near  the  town  on  the  Lovtcha  road, 
but  the  fighting  was  still  going  on  unabated,  and 
the  result  could  not  be  predicted.  On  all  sides 
there  was  nearly  the  same  sad  story  of  defeat.  It 
was  a  gloomy  evening ;  the  air  was  cold,  and  full  of 
a  sharp,  fine  rain.  We  were  most  of  us  wet  through, 
and,  more  depressing  than  all,  in  those  cornfields 
and  vineyards  between  us  and  the  town  lay  the  fifty 
thousand  or  more  men  v/ho  had  passed  through  the 
fiery  furnace  of  to-day's  battle,  and  who  had  done 
their  duty  in  it  so  loyally,  though  with  so  little  suc- 
cess— many  of  them  lay  dead,  others  in  agony  long- 
ing for  death,  and  the  rest  in  their  troubled  sleep 
thanking  God  that  this  day  was  over  and  they  still 
lived,  but  wondering  whether  they  would  be  able  to 
say  as  much  twenty-four  hours  hence. 

As  we  sat  chattering  around  the  fire,  the  sound 
of  a  horse  on  a  hard  gallop  through  the  mud  was 
heard,  and  in  a  minute  there  jumped  into  the  group 
Genghis  Khan,  a  major-general  in  the  Emperor's 
suite,  and  descendant  of  the  famous  conqueror  of 
the  thirteenth  century — a  great,  burly,  good-natured 
creature,  with  high  cheek-bones  and  black  hair  and 
beard,  almost  a  perfect  type  of  the  Tartar  as  de- 
picted in  the  child's  geography.     He  had  been  sent 


Plevna.  y  i 

to  learn  something  of  the  course  of  events  near  the 
center  of  the  hne,  and  in  returning  past  the  village 
of  Krishin  he  had  nearly  galloped  over  a  man  in  the 
road,  who  told  him  he  was  carrying  a  message  to  a 
brigade  commander  for  more  troops  to  garrison  the 
Krishin  redoubt ;  that  the  redoubt  was  actually 
taken,  and  he  had  himself  been  in  it !  This  tale 
was  listened  to  with  wide-open  mouths  and  eyes 
and  ears.  Two  officers  were  immediately  sent  off 
to  verify  the  report ;  they  went  splashing  away 
through  the  mud  and  darkness,  and  were  soon  out 
of  hearing. 

Then  the  Grand  Duke  stepped  over  to  Prince 
Charles's  carriage,  woke  him  up,  told  him  the  news, 
and  suggested  certain  orders  for  the  Roumanian 
troops,  insisting  that  this  or  that  should  be  attended 
to  in  order  that  the  redoubt  might  be  held  when 
day  broke  and  the  Turks  tried  to  regain  it. 

Before  the  Roumanian  officers  rushing  off  with 
these  orders  were  out  of  sound,  up  dashed  another 
major-general  named  Stroukoff,  a  handsome  young 
fellow  of  thirty-two,  with  long  blonde  mustaches. 
He  had  been  sent  to  the  Krishin  troops  for  news 
before  dark,  and  had  entered  the  great  redoubt  with 
them.  He  had  been  riding  post-haste  to  bring  the 
news,  but  had  lost  his  way  in  the  darkness,  and  so 
Genghis,  with  his  second-hand  account,  had  arrived 
first.     Stroukoff  corroborated  all  that  Genghis  had 


72  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

told,  and  gave  the  details  of  the  final  capture  of  the 
redoubt  just  after  dark  ;  the  Turks  had  fought  to 
the  last  with  curses  of  defiance,  refusing  to  surren- 
der, and  the  last  remnant  of  the  little  garrison  had 
perished  by  the  bayonet. 

The  fate  of  the  Krishin  redoubt  being  settled,  at 
least  tiil  morning,  the  Grand  Duke  prepared  to  go 
to  sleep — it  was  between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock — 
leaving  word  that  the  first  messenger  from  Skobeleff 
should  come  to  him  immediately  upon  his  arrival. 
There  were  about  a  dozen  carriages  here,  belonging 
to  the  Grand  Duke  and  the  more  important  mem- 
bers of  his  staff  ;  the  horses  were  unharnessed  and 
hitched  to  the  poles,  the  curtains  and  boots  were 
unrolled  and  fastened  together,  making  very  pass- 
able places  for  a  nap.  Others  lay  on  the  ground 
under  the  carriages,  and  the  rest  found  what  shelter 
they  could.  For  myself,  I  picked  out  a  place  not 
far  from  the  fire,  where  a  small  bush  formed  a  par- 
tial protection  against  the  piercing  cold  wind  and 
mist.  I  had  no  cover  with  me  but  a  ten-ounce 
mackintosh  overcoat,  and  I  wrapped  this  round  my 
shoulders,  though  with  no  particular  object,  for  they 
were  thoroughly  wet.  I  soon  found  I  had  made  a 
bad  selection,  being  directly  in  the  line  between  the 
embers  of  the  fire  and  the  carriages.  After  three  or 
four  men,  with  their  big  boots  and  spurs  and  sabers, 
had  fallen    over  me,  I  concluded  to    change,  and 


Plevna.  JT, 

found  a  more  quiet  place,  although  it  was  openly 
exposed  to  the  cutting  wind. 

In  this  dismal  situation  we  struggled  for  a  few- 
winks  of  sleep  throughout  the  long  hours  of  the 
cold  night.  Toward  morning  it  cleared,  with  a 
high  wind,  and  the  stars  came  out,  and  just  at  day- 
break several  wagons  drove  up  with  food  from  the 
Grand  Duke's  commissariat.  There  was  bread,  cold 
mutton,  a  few  eggs,  and  a  great  brass  "samovar" 
five  feet  high  and  holding  sixty  gallons.  We  were 
soon  drinking  tea  by  the  quart  and  devouring  cold 
mutton  by  the  pound,  few  of  us  having  had  any- 
thing to  eat  in  nearly  twenty-four  hours.  Our  stiff 
joints  and  rheumatic  backs  began  to  loosen  and 
lubricate,  and  our  spirits  rose  accordingly.  The 
sun  soon  rose  bright  and  clear,  disclosing  the  whole 
field  and  drying  our  clothes.  Smoke  could  be  seen 
rising  from  the  woods  of  Skobclefi's  position  on  the 
extreme  left,  about  six  miles  from  us  in  a  straight 
line  over  the  heads  of  the  Turks;  there  was  also 
some  firing  going  on  around  the  Krishin  redoubt. 
Word  had  been  received  during  the  night  from 
Skobeleff  explaining  his  precarious  position,  and 
answer  was  sent  back  to  him  at  seven  A.  M.  to  re- 
treat slowly,  for  no  reinforcements  could  be  sent  to 
him. 

About  eight  o'clock  the  Emperor  and  his  suite 
drove  up,  and  we  all  rode  forward  about  half  a  mile 
4 


74  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

to  the  point  of  the  hill,  and  there  strained  our  eyes 
through  the  glasses  trying  to  make  out  what  was 
going  on  with  Skobeleff,  away  off  on  the  other  side 
of  Plevna.  We  could  plainly  see  two  dark  lines  of 
troops  hotly  engaged  and  moving  backward  and 
forward,  but,  being  ignorant  of  the  details  of  the 
topography  of  that  vicinity,  and  almost  equally 
ignorant  of  the  actual  course  of  events  in  Skobc- 
leff's  command,  we  could  not  make  out  anything 
definite  as  to  what  was  going  on,  or  even  which  side 
was  Russian  and  which  Turkish  troops.  I  stepped 
over  to  General  Levitzky,  the  assistant  chief  of 
staff,  and  discussed  with  him  the  probabilities  as  to 
which  was  which.  He  knew  no  more  about  it  than 
I  did.  We  could  only  see  that  a  very  hot  fight  was 
going  on.  We  watched  it  for  two  or  three  hours, 
and  then  the  Emperor  mounted  and  rode  back  to 
the  site  of  our  bivouac  of  the  night  before.  About 
noon  a  lunch  was  served  of  cold  meats  and  pre- 
serves, bread,  biscuits,  and  an  abundance  of  claret 
and  champagne.  An  improvised  table  was  set  up 
for  the  Emperor,  his  brother,  his  nephew,  the  Duke 
of  Leuchtenberg,  Prince  Charles  of  Roumania,  old 
Prince  Suwaroff,  and  the  Minister  of  War.  The  rest 
of  us,  numbering  nearly  a  hundred  in  all,  squatted 
about  on  the  ground, — but  the  lunch  was  very  good. 
After  it  was  over  the  improvised  table  was  used  for 
a  council  of  war,  in  which  the  Emperor,  the   Grand 


Plevna.  75 

Duke,  the  Prince  of  Roumania,  the  Minister  of 
War,  the  chief  of  staff,  his  assistant,  and  the  chief 
of  staff  of  Prince  Charles,  all  took  part.  It  lasted 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  afternoon.  The  air 
was  warm  and  sunny,  and  we  sat  about  in  groups 
chatting  and  enjoying  the  balmy  air  as  at  a  picnic 
in  early  spring.  Meanwhile,  the  smoke  was  still 
curling  up  from  the  woods  over  where  Skobeleff's 
troops  were,  and  we  could  just  distinguish  the  noise 
of  their  musketry  fire.  We  did  not  know  it,  but 
just  then  his  terrible  two-days'  fight,  in  which  he 
lost  eight  thousand  men  out  of  eighteen  thousand, 
was  culminating,  and  he  was  beginning  to  withdraw 
as  best  he  could  the  remnants  of  his  troops.  The 
council  finally  broke  up  late  in  the  afternoon,  and 
the  Emperor  drove  off.  It  was  told  to  us,  in  gen- 
eral terms,  that  it  had  been  determined  to  make  no 
more  assaults  on  this  position  which  had  already 
cost  the  Russians  thirty  thousand  men,  but  to  re- 
main in  statu  quo,  fortify  their  own  positions  against 
any  counter-attack,  and  await  the  arrival  of  the 
re-enforcements  which  were  already  oi  route  from 
Russia.  Upon  their  arrival  the  place  would  be 
regularly  invested  and  besieged,  if  the  Turks  did 
not  meantime  evacuate  it. 

So  ended  this  memorable  assault, — at  least  the 
acute  part  of  it.  Its  effects, — the  long  lines  of 
creaking  little  carts,  which  could   be  seen  any  day 


"jG  ArDiy  Life  in  Russia. 

for  a  week  afterward  carrying  men  groaning  with 
wounds  to  the  Danube, — the  unburied  dead  which 
lay  in  plain  sight  in  front  of  the  Turkish  redoubts 
for  the  next  three  weeks,  until  the  terrible  stench 
compelled  the  Turks,  in  self-defense,  to  throw  a  few 
spadefuls  of  earth  over  them  ;  these  and  other 
horrors,  necessary  and  unnecessary,  I  have  no  desire 
to  dilate  upon. 

On  the  loth  of  December  Plevna  fell.  On  that 
day  Osman  Pasha  found  his  provisions  reduced  to 
but  a  few  days'  supply,  and  saw  that  the  place  which 
he  had  so  gallantly  and  stubbornly,  though  perhaps 
unadvisedly,  defended  for  nearly  five  long  months, 
was  at  last  doomed  to  fall  through  starvation.  But 
he  would  make  no  tame  surrender,  like  Bazaine  and 
Pemberton,  of  mere  hungry  mouths;  if  perish  it 
must,  his  army  should  perish  in  the  hot  blood  of 
battle.  Massing  all  his  troops  during  the  night,  he 
broke  forth  at  daylight,  striving  to  pierce  the 
Russian  lines  on  the  west  side  and  escape  to  the 
Balkans.  It  was  one  of  the  maddest,  fiercest,  least 
hopeful  onslaughts  ever  made  ;  it  swept  over  the  first 
two  Russian  lines  like  a  whirlwind,  and  was  barely 
checked  at  the  third  and  last.  But  once  checked, 
the  Russians  closed  in  on  every  side,  and  by  noon 
Osman  was  wounded  and  his  army  was  a  mass  of 
angry,  stupefied  human    beings,   without    cohesion 


Plevna.  yy 

and  without  leaders.  A  few  hours  later  it  marched 
back  with  sullen  faces  within  its  own  lines,  laid  down 
its  arms  in  the  ditches  along  the  road,  and  became 
a  mere  herd  of  ill-fed,  ill-clothed  prisoners  of  war. 

I  was  not  at  Plevna  on  the  loth.  Sharing  the 
feeling  then  current  that  the  siege  might  last  for 
several  months,  and  weary  of  walking  through  the 
muddy  trenches  and  conning  for  the  thousandth 
time  with  field-glasses  the  outlines  of  the  Turkish 
redoubts,  I  had  joined  General  Gourko,  who  was 
leading  a  detachment  of  about  forty  thousand  men 
into  the  Balkans,  near  Sophia,  to  prevent  any  re-cn- 
forcements  or  supplies  from  coming  to  Plevna. 
Hearing  of  the  surrender  by  the  field  telegraph,  I 
rode  back  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  reached  Plevna 
about  noon  on  the  13th.  The  burying-parties  were 
still  busy  on  various  parts  of  the  field.  At  the  first 
one  I  met,  an  ofificer  of  the  grenadiers  was  seated 
on  the  ground  eating  a  few  bits  of  hard  bread  and 
sausage  for  lunch.  A  dozen  yards  from  him  was  a 
trench  sixty  feet  long  and  twelve  feet  wide  about 
half  full  of  bodies.  The  men  of  his  detachment 
were  moving  over  the  field,  picking  up  the  dead 
Russians,  straightening  them  out,  and  rolling  them 
up  in  their  overcoats ;  they  were  then  brought  to 
the  trench  and  dropped  in  it  with  some  uniformity, 
heads  and  feet  alternating,  like  sardines  in  a  box. 
When  about  two  hundred  had  been  put  in  the  trench. 


--Q 


8  Arjiiy  Life  in  Russia. 

it  was  filled  over  with  earth,  a  short  service  read  by 
the  chaplain,  and  a  good  many  signs  of  the  cross 
made  by  the  men  ;  a  rude  wooden  cross,  with  two 
cross-pieces,  after  the  fashion  of  the  Greek  Church, 
was  then  placed  over  it,  and  the  burial  was  over. 
So  fared  the  dead  Russians.  For  the  Turks  the 
process  was  somewhat  abridged  :  the  little  batteries 
and  trenches  which  covered  the  field,  and  whose 
parapets  bore  the  footprints  of  many  a  fierce  hand- 
to-hand  fight  three  days  before,  were  now  utilized 
for  graves  ;  the  Turkish  bodies  were  first  stripped  of 
their  clothing  for  immediate  use,  it  being  in  many 
instances  superior  to  what  the  Russians  had  them- 
selves, and  they  >yere  then  dragged  to  the  nearest 
battery  and  tumbled  headlong  into  the  ditch.  There 
the  naked  bodies  lay,  their  arms  and  legs  tangled  in 
inextricable  confusion,  reminding  one  of  Dore's 
illustrations  of  "  The  Inferno."  When  the  ditch 
was  nearly  full  the  loose  earth  was  shoveled  down 
from  the  parapet  to  cover  the  bodies,  and  the  cere- 
mony was  complete. 

I  had  been  riding  over  the  field  among  these 
scenes,  gleaning  as  much  as  possible  from  the  sur- 
vivors of  the  events  of  the  battle,  and  had  grown 
somewhat  hardened  to  the  sickening  sight,  when 
suddenly,  on  passing  near  a  ditch  full  of  naked 
bodies,  my  horse  plunged  violently  and  stood 
quivering    and    snorting    with    fear.     Among    the 


Plevna.  79 

corpses  was  a  living  man  ;  his  head  and  one  arm 
only  were  visible  among  the  tangled  mass  of  bodies 
and  legs ;  his  face  was  purple,  and  he  was  already 
so  far  gone  as  to  be  speechless  ;  with  his  hand  he 
beckoned  veiy  faintly  to  me  to  come  near,  and  in 
his  face  and  eyes  there  was  the  most  ghastly  death- 
agony  I  have  ever  witnessed.  I  called  a  passing 
soldier  to  bring  some  water;  he  replied  he  had  seen 
none  since  early  morning  ;  there  was  none  on  the 
field  nearer  than  the  river,  two  versts  off  ;  my  own 
brandy-flask  and  cigarette-case  I  had  emptied  a  few 
minutes  before  among  a  group  of  wounded.  There 
was  nothing  to  be  done  for  this  poor  fellow,  and  I 
moved  on ;  he  was  probably  dead  before  many 
minutes.  For  all  the  volumes  that  have  been 
written  in  all  the  ages  of  the  horrors  of  the  battle- 
field after  the  battle,  how  little  do  they  or  can  they 
portray  its  reality ! 

War  is  at  best  brutal  and  brutifying ;  in  the 
midst  of  it  men  are  too  busy  with  the  object  to  be 
attained  to  have  any  time  for  human  sentiment,  and 
they  think  of  their  fellow-men  as  mere  units,  like 
horses,  guns,  muskets,  and  wagons.  Afterward, 
when  the  brain  is  less  heated,  its  daily  events  group 
themselves  together  in  the  memory  like  a  confused 
and  unreal  nightmare,  of  which  some  more  than 
usually  vivid  scenes  arc  the  only  tangible  features. 

The  next  day  the  Emperor  came  over  to  the  field 


8o  Anny  Life  in  Russia. 

to  review  the  troops,  thank  them  for  their  victory, 
and  take  leave  of  I  hem  prior  to  his  departure  for 
St.  Petersburg.  From  the  Grand  Duke's  head-quar- 
ters, at  Bogot,  to  the  battle-field,  near  Dolni-Etro- 
pol,  the  distance  was  fully  fifteen  miles.  It  was  a 
cold,  drizzling  day,  and  I  gladly  accepted  the  invi- 
tation of  one  of  my  colleagues  to  take  a  seat  in  his 
barouche  and  send  my  horse  on  ahead  by  an  orderly. 
The  scene  in  the  town  of  Plevna  just  after  the 
surrender  defies  all  description.  The  lack  of  ready 
wit  of  the  Russian  Tchinovniks,  the  total  want  of 
transport  and  medical  service  of  the  Turks,  the  vast 
numbers  of  sick  which  had  accumulated  during  the 
bad  weather  of  the  last  few  Aveeks  of  the  siege,  the 
vile,  filthy  streets  of  the  dirty  little  Turkish  town, 
all  combined  to  make  up  a  scene  whose  like  T  doubt 
has  been  witnessed  since  the  plagues  of  the  middle 
ages.  You  could  barely  open  a  door  on  any  street 
without  the  chance  of  stumbling  over  two  or  three 
corpses  in  the  hall, — men  who  had  crept  in  there  to 
die  of  their  fevers.  The  yards  of  the  houses  pre- 
sented nearly  the  same  spectacle ;  no  sanitary  pre- 
cautions seemed  to  have  been  taken,  and  the  yards 
and  streets  were  one  foul  mass  of  filth  and  mud, 
which  combined  with  the  stench  of  dead  bodies  to 
make  the  place  a  vast  pest-house.  Many  of  the 
houses  had  been  destroyed  by  the  bombardment ; 
all  those  belonging  to  Turks  had  been  deserted  by 


Plevna.  8 1 

their  owners.  The  streets  were  filled  as  in  a  mass- 
meeting, —  Bulgarians,  Russian  soldiers,  creaking 
carts  full  of  wounded,  supply-wagons,  artillery-wag- 
ons, horsemen,  all  blocking  one  another's  way  with- 
out order  or  direction.  It  seemed  as  if  Pandemo- 
nium had  settled  down  in  the  mud  of  this  filthy 
village.  On  this  day  two  long  rows  of  gendarmes 
lined  the  streets,  shunting  every  vehicle  or  being 
into  the  nearest  by-way  or  yard,  and  keeping  a  sin- 
gle, continuous  passage  open  for  the  carriages  of 
the  Emperor  and  his  suite.  As  we  emerged  from 
the  farther  end  of  the  village  we  came  upon  another 
striking  scene  ;  it  was  a  collection  of  not  less  than 
twelve  hundred  carts,  each  with  a  pair  of  uncouth 
buffaloes  tied  to  the  end  of  the  pole,  and  all  crowded 
into  a  space  so  small  that  it  was  barely  possible  for 
a  person  to  thread  his  way  on  foot  between  them. 
In  this  caravan  were  all  the  camp-followers  of 
Osman's  army  and  the  Mohammedan  inhabitants 
of  the  town.  They  had  been  brought  together  by 
Osman,  with  orders  to  follow  his  troops  the  moment 
he  should  break  the  Russian  lines.  Here  they  had 
been  for  four  days.  Standing  like  a  fringe  along 
the  front  were  the  men,  dressed  in  every  variety  of 
gayly-colorcd  and  picturesque  Oriental  costume, 
staring  in  silence  at  us  as  we  passed,  with  stolid 
indifference  or  sullen  defiance  on  their  faces ;  be- 
hind them,  peering  from  under  the  covers  of  the 
4* 


82  Aruij  Life  in  Russia. 

carts  or  playing  about  the  wheels,  were  the  women, 
dressed  in  blue  or  yellow  gowns,  the  "yashmak" 
tightly  drawn  over  their  faces,  and  the  children 
laughing  or  gaping  with  wonder  as  they  toddled 
about  in  their  striped  baggy  trousers. 

Across  the  river,  on  the  wide  plain  where  the  bat- 
tle had  been  fought,  were  the  prisoners,  herded 
together  like  cattle,  in  three  great  herds,  about  ten 
thousand  in  each,  and  a  line  of  Russian  sentries 
around  the  outer  edge.  The  Russians  had  not 
tents  or  blankets  enough  for  themselves,  the  Turks 
had  none  whatever,  and  the  miserable  town  afforded 
no  facilities  for  shelter ;  there  seemed  to  be  no  way 
to  guard  them  but  the  way  that  we  saw.  We  had 
arrived  an  hour  or  more  before  the  time  fixed  for 
the  Emperor,  and  I  passed  the  interval  wandering 
through  the  midst  of  the  herds  of  prisoners.  More 
than  half  of  them  were  hearty,  stout-looking  fel- 
lows, with  deep,  broad  chests,  and  well-knit  muscu- 
lar frames ;  among  the  others  were  many  whose 
emaciated  and  sallow  faces  told  of  the  bad  food  and 
suffering  in  the  trenches.  Not  a  few  were  crouched 
on  the  ground,  shivering  with  the  cold  wind  and  the 
still  colder  hand  of  death  which  was  beginning  to 
rest  upon  them.  For  clothing,  every  man  wore  the 
Turkish  fez,  and  a  majority  had  a  rather  shoddy 
overcoat  with  a  capote  ;  further  than  that  there  was 
no  uniformity,  the  dress  being  of  every  variety  from 


Plevna.  83 

the  rudest  of  homespun  to  a  handsome  suit  of  stout 
blue  cloth,  cut  a  la  Zouave,  and  adorned  with  red  or 
yellow  trimmings.  They  were  badly  shod,  great 
numbers  of  them  having  no  other  protection  for  the 
feet  and  ankles  but  raw  hide  tied  with  strings.  The 
expression  of  these  men  was,  as  a  rule,  frank  and 
gentle  ;  but  there  were  many  scowling,  defiant,  and 
savage  faces.  I  found  a  few  who  could  speak  some 
words  of  French,  enough  to  tell  me  that  they  had 
not  tasted  food  since  the  morning  of  the  battle, 
four  days  before ;  they  had  been  all  this  time 
herded  in  the  open  as  now,  their  position  being 
moved  once  in  twenty-four  hours  to  avoid  the 
accumulated  filth,  and  to  give  an  opportunity  to 
bury  those  who  had  died  meantime. 

The  Emperor  arrived  about  one  o'clock.  The 
troops  formed  for  review  consisted  of  the  corps  of 
grenadiers,  three  brigades  of  Roumanians,  a  division 
of  cavalry,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty  guns — 
about  fifty  thousand  men  in  all.  They  were  drawn 
up,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  herds  of  prisoners,  in 
the  usual  Russian  fashion — the  cavalry  on  the  flanks, 
the  infantry  in  a  line  of  battalion  masses  (double 
column  of  platoons  on  the  center),  and  the  artillery 
in  rear  of  the  infantry.  Even  in  this  compact  for- 
mation the  troops  of  the  three  arms  covered  a  space 
over  a  mile  long  and  half  a  mile  deep.  The  review 
was  conducted  in  the  customary  form.     The  com- 


84  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

manding  general — in  this  case  the  Grand  Duke 
Nichohis — took  liis  position  on  the  right  of  the  line, 
with  his  staff  immediately  in  rear  of  him.  As  the 
Emperor  and  his  suite  approached,  the  Grand  Duke 
galloped  out  alone  to  meet  him,  saluted,  and  handed 
him  the  consolidated  report  of  the  troops  present. 
The  Emperor  then  rode  along  the  front  of  the  line, 
the  Grand  Duke's  staff  joining  in  the  suite,  swelling 
its  numbers  to  nearly  three  hundred.  As  he  ap- 
proached each  regiment  the  men  presented  arms 
and  the  officers  saluted,  all  turning  their  heads 
toward  him  and  watching  him  with  the  most  intense 
interest.  He  then  wished  the  men  good-morning 
in  the  usual  manner,  and  they  returned  his  saluta- 
tion as  the  regimental  band  struck  up  the  national 
hymn — an  air  whose  grand  harmony  is  long  remem- 
bered by  those  who  have  heard  it.  The  men  kept 
up  an  uninterrupted  series  of  hurrahs  so  long  as  the 
Emperor  remained  in  their  front.  Now  and  then 
the  Emperor  stopped  to  call  out  some  soldier  wear- 
ing the  St.  George's  Cross,  and  ask  him  to  relate 
the  circumstances  under  which  he  had  gained  it. 
The  answers  were  usually  brief  and  modest,  and 
the  Emperor  would  compliment  him  at  the  end 
with  "  Tee  molodetz  !  " — "  Thou  art  a  fine  fellow  !  " 
and  the-  man  would  grasp  his  hand,  his  sleeve,  his 
skirts,  and  cover  them  with  kisses,  often  dropping 
his  musket  in  the  confusion  of  a  moment  which  he 


Plevna.  85 

would  remember  to  the  last  day  of  his  life,  and 
which  he  considered  ample  reward  for  any  sacrifice 
or  risk  of  life.  Opposite  the  regiments  of  Siberia 
and  Little  Russia,  which  had  borne  the  fiercest  part 
of  the  Turkish  assault,  the  Emperor  stopped  and 
called  the  officers  about  him  to  make  a  short  speech 
of  a  few  appropriate  words,  telling  them  their  regi- 
ment had  earned  its  place  in  Russian  history,  and 
would  henceforth  carry  the  colors  of  St.  George  en- 
twined on  its  standards.  It  was  more  than  an  hour 
before  the  Emperor  had  finished  riding  down  the 
line  of  infantr}^,  and  thence  back  to  the  other  flank 
and  down  the  lines  of  batteries,  each  of  which  was 
saluted  in  turn  by  name.  Then  the  Emperor  took 
position  in  front,  and  the  troops  filed  past  him,  con- 
suming something  more  than  another  hour.  The 
infantry  went  past  in  company  fronts  (two  hundred 
men  each),  and  to  those  who  preserved  a  good 
alignment  the  Emperor  shouted,  ''  Koroshoh ! " 
"  Very  well ! "  to  which  the  men  yelled  back, 
"  Otchen  radom,  Vass  Imperatorsky  Veleetchest- 
vo  I  "  "  We're  glad  to  serve  your  Majesty!  "  Each 
regiment,  after  filing  past,  returned  directly  to  its 
own  quarters,  and  then  the  Emperor  and  suite  rode 
back  to  their  carriages  and  returned  in  them,  giving 
their  saddle-horses  to  their  orderlies. 

One  often  sees  reviews, — the  hopeful,  bright  re- 
cruits setting  out  for  the  war,  the  saddened  vetcr- 


86  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

ans  rcturnins^  with  thinned  ranks, — reviews  at  great 
ceremonies,  reviews  for  mere  inspection  or  drilL 
They  do  not  vary  greatly  in  different  countries; 
the  men  are  usually  dressed  in  their  best,  their  arms 
are  bright,  the  ground  is  well  selected,  the  move- 
ments are  precise,  the  scene  is  brilliant.  But  it  is 
rare  that  they  have  an  air  of  reality  about  them ; 
the  most  they  tell  of  actual  war  is  occasionally 
some  reference  to  their  fallen  comrades,  such  as 
leaving  gaps  in  the  ranks  where  they  had  stood. 
But  this  review  was  none  of  these.  It  was  a  review 
of  the  survivors  of  a  battle  fought  but  four  days  be- 
fore, and  it  was  held  on  the  very  ground  where  they 
had  fought,  and  in  full  sight  of  the  men  they  had 
conquered.  It  seemed  to  me  to  be  most  intensely 
dramatic,  and  full  of  a  vivid  savagery,  which  had 
nothing  in  common  with  the  grand  march  of 
Grant's  and  Sherman's  armies  along  Pennsylvania 
Avenue  in  April,  1865,  but  rather  to  recall  the 
stories  of  the  old  Roman  triumphs,  where  the  con- 
quered were  dragged  through  the  streets  chained  to 
the  chariot  wheels.  It  represented  all  that  there  is 
in  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  glorious  war — 
and  all  its  emptiness.  Here  were  fifty  thousand 
men,  victors  in  a  great  battle,  shivering,  with  their 
gaping  boots  in  the  mud,  but  shouting  themselves 
hoarse  at  the  sight  of  their  beloved  Emperor,  who 
typified    to    them    all    they    had    fought    for;    over 


Plevna.  87 

yonder,  listening  to  their  shouts,  were  herds  of 
disorganized  men,  the  remnants  of  soldiers  who 
had  but  a  few  hours  before  met  them  in  fierce  fight, 
but  who  now  had  no  shouting  to  do,  no  commenda- 
tion to  receive,  no  future,  but  a  dull  blank  in  their 
minds;  no  feelings  but  suppressed  rage,  alternating 
with  the  gnawings  of  hunger ;  and  between  the  two 
groups  lay  the  carcasses  of  horses,  pieces  of  cloth- 
ing, parts  of  belts  and  cartridge-boxes,  broken  am- 
munition and  wheels,  and  all  the  numerous  odds 
and  ends  which  lie  strewn  on  every  battle-field, 
including  here  and  there  a  dead  man  who  had 
escaped  the  notice  of  the  burying-partics.  Yet  the 
two  enemies,  the  victors  and  the  vanquished,  have 
an  almost  equal  claim  to  every  soldier's  admiration ; 
without  stopping  to  inquire  into  the  justice  of  the 
causes  for  which  they  respectively  fought,  or  into 
the  errors  which  their  commanders  had  made,  but 
thinking  merely  of  the  great  mass  of  the  soldiers 
on  either  side,  one  can  only  recall  that  in  the  histor- 
ical drama  of  Plevna  which  this  day's  review  closed, 
both  sides  had  shown  qualities  of  endurance  and 
devotion,  of  daring  spirit  and  dogged  courage,  of 
faithful  obedience  and  cheerful  sacrifice,  of  all  those 
soldierly  qualities  which  in  all  the  ages  -have  com- 
manded the  admiration  of  men.  But  one  quality 
had  they  lacked  — that  of  mercy  to  their  fallen  foes 
— and  in  a  war  of  religious  fanaticism  perhaps  this 
could  hardly  be  expected. 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE    WINTER    CAMPAIGN. 

With  the  fall  of  Plevna  and  the  capture  of 
Osman's  army  it  was  thought  that  the  backbone 
of  the  Turkish  resistance  was  broken,  but  it  was 
only  a  few  days  before  every  one  knew  that  there 
was  to  be  no  rest  in  the  campaign.  Orders  were 
immediately  issued  sending  the  troops  who  had 
blockaded  Plevna  to  one  or  the  other  of  the 
advanced  guards  in  the  Balkans,  and  at  the  end 
of  a  week  they  were  all  in  motion.  Every  one 
obeyed  cheerfully,  nobody  knowing  what  would 
come  of  it,  but  nine  out  of  ten  believing  it 
could  only  result  in  terrible  disaster,  to  be  brought 
about  by  lack  of  food  and  extreme  suffering  from 
cold.  These  views  were  only  confirmed  by  a 
change  in  the  weather,  which  hitherto  had  been  raw 
and  wet,  with  occasional  snows,  but  now  suddenly 
changed  to  a  temperature  of  about  zero  Fahrenheit, 
accompanied  by  a  raging  snow-storm  of  three  days' 
duration.  Everything  was  frozen  solid,  the  roads 
became  beds  of  ice,  the  animals  staggered  and  fell 
dead  with  cold,  and    the  men  huddled  together  in 

88 


The   Winter  Campaign.  89 

silence,  shivering  in  their  ragged  clothing  which  had 
not  been  renewed  since  summer. 

I  left  Plevna  and  the  Grand  Duke's  head-quar- 
ters on  the  20th  of  December,  two  days  after  the 
departure  of  the  ninth  corps,  which  had  been 
detailed  to  General  Gourko  at  the  Orkhanie  Pass. 
I  intended  to  overtake  these  troops  on  the  road, 
and  follow  the  campaign  with  General  Gourko's 
army.  At  the  close  of  a  long  day's  ride  the  storm 
increased  in  severity,  and  I  was  preparing  to  leave 
the  road  and  seek  shelter  for  the  night  in  a  village 
bivouac,  whose  smoke  I  could  see  not  far  off,  when 
a  weird  picture  attracted  my  attention  just  in.  front 
of  me.  Alone  in  the  road,  without  a  human  being 
in  sight,  stood  a  company  wagon  heavily  loaded 
v/ith  the  men's  rations  ;  the  ground  was  frozen  hard 
beneath  it  and  covered  with  snow  on  all  sides ;  the 
snow  was  driving,  furiously  through  the  air,  and  the 
eye  could  penetrate  its  mass  but  a  short  distance ; 
against  this  white  background  stood  the  black 
silhouette  of  the  middle  horse  of  the  "troika";  the 
other  two  lay  dead  and  stiff  at  his  feet  on  cither 
side,  and  he  alone  was  still  standing,  gaunt  and 
feeble,  swaying  backward  and  forward  in  sad  and 
terrible  silence  before  the  blasts  of  the  storm,  and 
waiting,  half  insensible,  his  turn  to  fall. 

I  found  refuge  for  the  night  with  a  captain  of  a 
"park"  of   reserve  artillery  ammunition  which  was 


QO  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

bivouacked  in  the  village.  He  occupied  one  room 
of  a  little  hut,  the  other  being  filled  with  a  family 
of  some  ten  or  twelve  Bulgarians,  of  both  sexes  and 
various  ages.  His  reception  was  in  unison  with 
that  which  I  invariably  received  from  every  one  of 
his  class,  and  the  open-hearted  warmth  of  which  I 
was  often  puzzled  to  account  for.  He  spoke  but  a 
few  words  of  French  and  German,  barely  more  than 
the  few  phrases  of  Russian  which  I  had  by  that 
time  acquired,  but  it  was  enough  for  him  to  under- 
stand that  I  was  an  American.  Everything  was 
immediately  placed  at  my  disposal :  my  horses  had 
the  best  stalls  in  the  wretched  little  stable,  and 
plenty  of  forage  to  eat ;  the  samovar  was  immedi- 
ately set  boiling  for  tea ;  whatever  meat  he  had  was 
at  once  put  to  cooking;  his  little  flask  of  brandy 
w-as  half  drained  to  warm  my  chilled  stomach  ;  his 
chest  was  opened  to  take  out  the  one  or  two  delica- 
cies which  he  possessed  in  the  way  of  food  ;  his  one 
knife  and  fork  were  cleaned  for  my  use  ;  his  servant 
was  called  a  fool  and  a  blockhead  for  not  being 
quicker  with  the  supper;  his  few  St.  Petersburg 
cigarettes  were  forced  upon  me  ;  and  when  it  was 
time  to  go  to  bed  he  insisted  long  and  urgently, 
though  I  would  not  yield,  that  I  should  sleep  on  his 
camp-bed  while  he  took  the  mud  floor. 

In    the    morning,    he  was  equally  urgent  that   I 
should  take  the  greater  part  of  the  half-dozen  cans 


The   Winter  Campaign.  91 

of  potted  meats  which  he  possessed,  on  the  ground 
that  I  would  need  them  out  in  the  storm,  while  he 
might  remain  where  he  was  for  ten  days  or  more. 
In  a  word,  everything  that  was  possible  was  done  to 
make  us  change  places  for  the  night, — he  to  become 
the  ill-provided  traveler,  and  I  the  comparatively 
comfortable  lodger  in  a  house,  such  as  it  was.  I 
never  saw  this  man  before  nor  after  the  one  night  I 
passed  with  him,  yet,  had  I  been  his  foster-brother 
and  playmate  from  childhood,  now  rejoining  him 
after  a  long  absence,  he  could  not  have  done  more 
for  me.  The  same  thing  happened  to  me  on  dozens 
of  occasions,  and  as  I  found  that  more  than  once, 
when  I  was  mistaken  for  an  English  officer  or  cor- 
respondent, my  reception  was  very  cold,  I  at  last 
became  convinced  that  all  this  kindness  was  due  to 
my  nationality.  It  is  a  fact,  strange  as  it  may  ap- 
pear to  some  people,  that  there  exists  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  Russia  a  sentimental 
attachment  for  Americans,  of  the  depth  of  which 
we  have  very  little  conception  at  home.  The  policy 
of  the  rulers  of  Russia,  from  the  time  of  Catherine 
to  the  present,  has  been  one  of  uniform  and  un- 
broken friendship  for  the  United  States ;  this  is  a 
well-known  fact  in  politics,  and  people  account  for 
it  on  the  ground  of  self-interest,  or  of  genuine  ad- 
miration, according  to  their  political  opinions.  But 
what  is  not  generally  known  is  the  fact  that  this 


92  Ari/iy  Life  in  Russia. 

friendly  feeling  permeates  all  classes  of  society,  and 
is   far  more  firmly  rooted  in  those  portions  of  the 
community  which  never  see  St.  Petersburg  than  it 
is  in    the  more  cosmopolitan  court  circles  of  that 
capital.     It  is  of  no  use  to  argue  that  the  feeling  is 
superficial,  that   it  has    no   substantial  foundation, 
that  the  political  customs   and   the   habits  of  the 
people  of  the  two  countries  are  diametrically  op- 
posed, and  that  they  have  no  interests  in  common. 
The  feeling  does  exist,  and  it  is  a  very  strong  one. 
Certain  reasons  may  be  given  for  it,  which,  although 
at  first  sight  they  may  appear  insufificient  and  super- 
ficial, have  nevertheless  a  great  deal  of  force.     Re- 
moteness and  the  lack  of  clashing  interests  are,  no 
doubt,   among  the  prime  causes,  coupled  with  the 
fact  that   Russian  interests  do  clash  so  constantly 
with  those  of  other  European  nations ;  in  addition 
to  this,  there  are  elements  of  sympathy  in  the  fact 
of  mere  geographical  bigness,  Russia  and  the  United 
States  standing  first  among  civilized  nations  in  point 
of  continuous  territory  and  number  of  inhabitants 
of  one  race ;  each  of  us  is  sensitive  to  foreign  criti- 
cism, and  each,  while  conscious  of  its  own  strength, 
has  felt  the  sneers  of  other  countries;  but,  above 
all,  Russia  has  come  to  look  upon  itself  as  the  invet- 
erate and  eternal  enemy  of  England,  and  it  rightly 
judges  us  to  be  the  natural  rival  of  England  in  all 
those  elements  of  commercial  success  which  have 


21ic   Winter  Campaign.  93 

« 

made  her  present  greatness.  Russia  looks  to  see 
England  decline  as  we  advance,  and  this  decline  she 
considers  her  greatest  advantage.  A  wide-spread 
illusion  also  exists,  which  I  never  succeeded  in  dis- 
pelling with  any  one  with  whom  I  conversed,  that 
the  minute  England  becomes  involved  in  war  we 
will  destroy  her  commerce  by  precisely  those  means 
which  certain  Englishmen  employed  in  our  hour  of 
trouble  to  destroy  ours.  Our  feelings  and  probable 
action  in  the  event  of  England  being  involved  in  a 
Continental  war  are  more  correctly  appreciated  at 
St.  Petersburg,  but  in  the  country  at  large — as  rep- 
resented by  the  army  officers — the  opinion  is  uni- 
versal that  we  would  at  once  send  out  cruisers  to 
depredate  on  English  commerce  the  moment  Eng- 
land's fleet  was  occupied  elsewhere.  Both  being 
enemies,  the  Russians  argue,  of  the  same  power,  we 
must  naturally  be  friends  of  each  other. 

One  other  incident,  which  is  almost  forgotten  at 
home,  made  a  deep  and  lasting  impression  in  Rus- 
sia;  this  was  the  mission  of  Mr.  Fox  in  1867.  The 
sending  of  a  fleet  of  vessels,  partly  composed  of 
monitors,  which  had  proved  their  merit  in  action  at 
home,  but  had  never  before  been  seen  in  European 
waters,  to  convey  an  embassador  bearing  a  special 
message  from  the  whole  American  people,  as  repre- 
sented in  Congress,  of  good-will  to  the  Russian 
people  and  hearty  congratulations  on  the  escape  of 


94  Aniij  Life  in  Russia. 

their  emperor  from  assassination — all  this  had  a 
flavor  of  generous  sentiment  in  it  peculiarly  accept- 
able to  the  people  of  Moscow  and  "  old  Russians  " 
generally.  The  fame  of  this  mission  penetrated  to 
the  ends  of  the  empire,  and  consolidated  a  friend- 
ship which  has  been  growing  for  years,  and  the  very 
inertness  of  the  Russians,  which  prevents  them 
from  receiving  a  new  idea  every  day,  makes  them 
hold  very  fast  to  those  they  do  receive  and  accept. 
I  left  my  generous  host  early  the  next  morning, 
and  making  my  way  through  the  storm,  arrived  two 
days  afterward  at  General  Gourko's  head-quarters, 
on  the  northern  slope  of  the  Balkans,  near  Ork- 
hanie.  The  troops  destined  to  re-enforce  his  army 
arrived  the  same  day,  and  on  the  next  the  orders 
were  issued  for  the  advance.  The  following  day, 
Christmas  morning,  in  intense  cold  and  in  the  midst 
of  a  dense,  impenetrable  fog  of  particles  of  ice,  the 
Russians  set  out  to  cross  the  Balkans,  The  troops 
found  almost  insuperable  obstacles  in  dragging  their 
guns  up  the  steep,  icy  slopes  of  the  narrow  road 
which  had  been  made  over  the  mountain  to  enable 
them  to  turn  the  position  of  the  Turks  in  their  front. 
The  guns  had  to  be  taken  apart  and  dragged  piece- 
meal by  ropes  up  the  mountain,  and  late  that  eve- 
ning, at  the  time  when  it  was  intended  that  more 
than  half  of  the  troops  should  have  been  at  the 
southern  outlets  of  the  mountain  passes,  not  a  gun 


TJie   Winter  Cainpaigii.  95 

had  reached  the  summit.  The  position  was  a  pre- 
carious one ;  the  troops  were  spread  out  over  an 
immense  length,  and  there  was  the  greatest  danger 
that  the  movement  would  be  revealed  to  the  Turks 
and  might  be  wholly  aborted  by  flank  attacks  as 
the  isolated  detachments  should  reach  the  south- 
ern valleys.  At  nightfall,  General  Gourko  reached 
the  summit  and  lay  down  in  the  snow  for  a  little 
rest,  thoroughly  harassed  by  the  anxieties  of  the 
moment.  It  was  one  of  those  critical  periods  when 
success  or  failure  hang  in  the  balance;  and  the  gene- 
ral's impatience  knew  no  bounds,  as  successive 
reports  came  to  him  of  the  difficulties  and  delays 
which  the  different  columns  met  with.  After  ad- 
miring the  magnificent  view  which  was  disclosed 
from  the  top  of  the  mountain,  at  the  base  of  which 
lay  the  broad  plain  of  Sophia,  clad  in  snow,  but  dot- 
ted here  and  there  with  the  numerous  dark  clusters 
of  huts  and  curling  smoke  of  the  villages,  I  declined 
an  invitation  to  pass  the  night  on  the  mountain, 
and  determined  to  push  forward  to  a  regiment 
which  held  the  outposts  in  the  valley  below.  Sev- 
eral hours  after  nightfall,  when  I  was  beginning 
to  fear  I  had  wholly  lost  my  road  and  was 
wandering  into  the  Turkish  lines,  as  I  once  did  at 
Plevna,  I  stumbled  upon  the  village  where  the 
Russians  were  bivouacked  ;  applying  at  once  at  the 
first  hut,  I  was  received  with  Ihc  usual  cordiality  by 


96  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

the  half-dozen  officers  quartered  in  it,  and  was 
immediately  offered  more  than  my  share  of  what- 
ever creature  comforts  they  possessed. 

While  the  troops  were  slowly  dragging  themselves 
and  their  guns  over  the  mountain  range,  I  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  delay  to  pass  a  day  or  two  with  the 
brigade  of  Caucasian  Cossacks,  who  were  employed 
in  scouting  and  skirmishing  with  the  Turks  in  the 
valley  of  Sophia.  These  men  are  of  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent type  from  the  Russians  proper.  They  come 
from  the  mountains  and  valleys  of  the  Caucasus,  not 
very  far  from  that  portion  of  the  earth  which  is 
spoken  of  as  the  cradle  of  the  human  race,  and  they 
are  of  a  remarkably  pure  Caucasian  type — ruddy 
complexion,  dark  hair  and  eyes,  short  black  beards, 
and  compact,  well-knit  frames;  their  wild,  pictur- 
esque costume  consists  of  a  black,  woolly,  sheep- 
skin hat,  one  or  two  long  tunics  coming  to  their 
heels,  the  inner  one  of  red  or  black  silk  ^nd  the 
outer  of  brown  woolen  cloth,  a  pair  of  trowsers,  and 
low  boots  outside  of  them.  The  tunic  is  gathered 
in  at  the  waist  by  a  very  narrow  belt  of  leather,  or- 
namented with  silver  worked  in  enamel ;  the  scim- 
itar-like sword  is  hung  by  a  similar  piece  of  leather 
passing  over  one  shoulder,  and  over  the  other  hangs 
the  carbine,  in  a  sheath  of  sheep-skin  ;  on  each  breast 
are  half  a  dozen  cases  for  cartridges.  Their  horses 
are  the  counterpart  of  themselves — short,  thick-set, 


TJic   Winter  Campaign.  97 

extremely  hardy,  and  very  intelligent.  The  men  are 
wonderfully  bold  riders,  though  their  seat  and  ap- 
pearance— with  short  stirrups  and  high  saddles — 
have  little  in  common  with  what  we  are  accustomed 
to  call  good  horsemanship. 

These  people  differ  as  much  from  the  Russians  in 
their  character  as  in  their  appearance.  Though 
among  the  most  faithful  of  the  Tsar's  subjects,  they 
are  all  Mohammedans,  understand  but  very  little  of 
the  Russian  language,  are  very  quick-sighted  and 
self-reliant,  never  at  a  loss  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves, and  render  the  best  service  when  left  to  their 
own  resources.  They  are  a  species  of  amiable  bar- 
barians, devoted  to  their  friends  and  absolutely  re- 
lentless to  their  foes  ;  they  talk  but  little  among 
themselves,  have  a  serious  expression  of  counte- 
nance, rarely  smile,  and  do  not  sing  except  when 
they  give  themselves  up  to  a  dance  around  a  camp- 
fire,  which  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  sun 
dances  of  our  Indians,  although  the  motions  are 
more  varied  and  graceful.  They  have  little  of  the 
regular  discipline  of  European  troops,  though  they 
are  by  no  means  disorderly,  and  they  love  nothing  so 
much  as  danger  and  wild  adventure  for  its  own  sake. 

The  brigade  was  bivouacked  in  one  of  the  little 
villages  of  the  Sophia  plain  when  I  joined  it,  just  at 
daylight,  a  day  or  two  after  Christmas.  The  village 
was  wrapped  in  snow,  and  showed  no  sign  whatever 


98  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

of  the  thousand  men  who  were  hid  in  it,  except  that 
a  good  many  horses  were  in  the  yards  of  the  huts. 
I  found  the  hut  of  the  commandant,  who  was  just 
rolhng  out  of  his  blankets,  and  refreshed  myself 
wath  a  few  glasses  of  the  customary  hot  tea.  Half 
an  hour  afterward  the  men  were  in  motion,  and 
moved  out  through  the  deep  snow  toward  the  town 
of  Sophia,  to  reconnoiter  the  strength  of  the  Turks  at 
that  place.  As  they  passed  from  one  to  another  of 
the  villages,  where  no  Russians  had  previously  been 
seen,  the  Bulgarians  met  them  in  large  numbers  at 
the  entrance  of  each,  usually  preceded  by  their 
priests  bearing  a  cross  and  the  elders  of  the  village 
bringing  salt  and  bread.  At  their  approach  they 
bowed  their  heads  to  the  ground  and  cried  "  Wel- 
come, welcome,"  and  then  rushed  up  to  kiss  their 
hands  or  clothes.  Whatever  knowledge  they  had 
concerning  the  Turks  was  cheerfully  given  (though 
their  reports  were  often  unintelligible  and  contra- 
dictor>'),  and  their  ample  provisions  of  grain,  bread, 
geese,  and  poultry  were  freely  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Russians.  But  as  they  saw  that  the  latter 
did  not  remain,  their  enthusiasm  cooled  most  de- 
cidedly, as  they  remembered  that  to-morrow  might 
bring  a  body  of  Turks  back  upon  them. 

As  the  Cossacks  approached  one  village,  they  were 
received  w^ith  a  few  shots  coming  from  behind  the 
hedges.     The  column  w^as   halted    and  some   skir- 


The   Winter  Campaign.  99 

mishers  thrown  out,  who  reported  a  body  of  Turk- 
ish infantry  in  the  village,  engaged  in  crossing  a  deep 
little  stream  which  was  covered  with  a  thin  coating 
of  ice,  not  strong  enough  to  bear  a  horse.  Those 
of  the  Turks  who  had  already  passed  were  drawn  up 
in  line  on  the  opposite  bank,  and  as  the  Cossacks 
could  only  approach  the  ford  through  a  narrow 
street  they  were  at  a  considerable  disadvantage, 
considering  that  their  object  was  merely  a  recon- 
naissance, and  nothing  was  to  be  gained  by  losing 
forty  or  fifty  men.  So  they  only  skirmished  with 
the  Turks  for  half  an  hour,  when  all  the  latter  being 
across  the  stream,  they  broke  into  a  double-quick  on 
the  road  to  Sophia.  The  Cossacks  put  after  them, 
but  the  ford  was  very  narrow,  and  it  was  some  time 
before  they  were  over  ;  the  Turks  got  a  start  of  a 
good  half-mile,  and  as  soon  as  the  Cossacks  came 
near  them  they  stopped  long  enough  to  give  them 
a  warm  fire  and  then  ran  on.  The  Cossacks  could 
easily  have  caught  them  on  the  road,  which  was 
firm  and  hard,  but  would  have  lost  thirty  or  forty 
men  in  doing  so,  and  there  was  no  object  in  it,  as  it 
was  only  a  small  force  of  five  hundred  or  six  hun- 
dred men  retreating  from  an  outpost  in  the  mount- 
ains. Then  the  Cossacks  tried  to  go  around  and  get 
ahead  of  them,  but  the  deep  soft  snow  in  the  fields 
made  their  progress  slower  than  that  of  the  Turks. 
So  they  merely  kept  up  the  chase  for  three  or  four 


lOO  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

miles,  until  they  came  to  the  main  high-road  at  a 
point  where  it  crossed  a  considerable  stream  about 
three  miles  in  front  of  Sophia.  The  Turks  got 
safely  across  the  bridge,  and  then  the  Cossacks 
were  saluted  by  a  fine,  rattling  fusilade  extending 
over  a  length  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  stream,  and  they  saw  a  regi- 
ment or  more  of  Tcherkesses*  deploy  on  the  op- 
posite bank.  Here  they  were  in  full  sight  of  the 
town,  and  the  officers  had  a  good  opportunity  to 
sketch  the  position  of  its  fortifications,  so  the  Cos- 
sacks fell  back  to  about  1200  yards  and,  spreading 
out  over  a  long  line,  kept  up  a  good  skirmish  fire. 
A  curious  and  very  interesting  incident  now  oc- 
curred. The  Cossacks  sat  there  exchanging  shots 
for  nearly  an  hour,  and  while  with  my  glasses  I 
could  plainly  see  many  a  Turk  knocked  out  of  his 
saddle  by  the  Russian  Berdans,  not  a  man  on  the 
Russian  side  was  hit,  and  not  a  bullet  was  heard  to 
whistle.  The  Tcherkesses  were  armed  with  the 
Winchester  repeating  carbine,  which  only  carried 
about  800  to  900  yards,  and  the  Cossacks  were 
\\  holly  out  of  range  !  A  week  later  another  skirmish 
took  place  at  the  same  locality.  This  time  it  was 
the  main  body  of  Gourko's  troops  forcing  their 
way  to  Sophia  ;  they  met  with  resistance  at  this 
same  bridge,  and  a  smart  skirmish  took  place,  last- 

*  Caucasian  cavalry  in  the  Turkish  service. 


TJie   Winter  Campaign.  loi 

ing  about  an  hour,  and  costing  the  Russians  fifty  or 
sixty  men.  On  this  occasion  I  was  with  General 
Gourko's  staff,  and  we  stood  watching  the  fight  on 
a  tumulus  about  three  hundred  yards  in  rear  of  the 
place  where  I  had  been  before ;  this  time  the  bullets 
flew  fast  and  thick,  and  a  few  horses  in  our  group 
were  wounded  ;  but  now  it  was  Turkish  infantry 
opposed  to  us,  armed  with  the  Peabody-Martini 
rifle,  a  splendid  weapon  which  carries  with  deadly 
effect  to  2,000  yards. 

As  the  sun  began  to  go  down  the  Cossacks  grad- 
ually withdrew,  having  gained  as  much  information 
as  was  possible  with  their  force.  Along  the  road 
were  the  evidences  of  an  affair  in  which  these  same 
troops  had  been  engaged  a  few  days  before,  and 
which  was  more  to  Iheir  taste  than  to-day's  gentle 
skirmishing.  Pieces  of  broken  wagons,  dead  horses, 
immense  stains  of  blood  in  the  snow,  men  with 
their  heads  severed  in  two  pieces — these  were  the 
marks  of  an  attack  on  a  transport  train  guarded  by 
a  company  of  infantry,  every  man  of  which  had 
been  cut  down.  And  yet — so  strange  are  the  anom- 
alies of  semi-civilized  nature — at  the  end  of  that  af- 
fair, an  infant,  not  over  six  months  old,  who  had 
been  discovered  deserted  among  the  ddbris,  was 
picked  up,  wrapped  in  a  big  cloak,  tenderly  cared 
for  during  the  night,  and  the  next  day  carried 
back  on  horseback,  thirty  miles  over  the  mountains, 


102  Aniij'  Life  in  Russia. 

to  the  nearest  hospital,  and  there  delivered  to  the 
Sisters  of  Charity  of  the  Red  Cross,  by  whom  it 
was  taken  in  charge  and  sent  to  Russia  for  adoption. 
The  picture  of  the  rough  Cossack  carrying  this 
child,  laughing  in  his  face,  on  the  pommel  of  his 
saddle  through  the  snow,  was  a  most  attractive  one ; 
and  yet  the  same  man,  without  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion, would  pull  out  his  sword  and  hack  off  the  head 
of  its  W'Ounded  father,  lying  on  the  ground  and  beg- 
ging for  mercy ;  and,  while  enjoying  the  zest  of  it  at 
the  moment,  would  forget  all  about  it  the  next  day. 
While  this  reconnaissance  had  been  going  on,  the 
main  body  of  the  troops  were  still  tugging  pain- 
fully at  their  guns  on  the  mountain  range.  It  was 
six  days  before  they  had  pulled  them  up  one  side, 
slid  them  down  the  other,  and  then  put  them  to- 
gether again,  mounted  them  on  their  wheels,  and 
turned  them  over  to  the  horses  for  draught.  Final- 
ly the  troops  were  all  assembled  in  the  valleys  on 
the  southern  side ;  and  an  attack  was  made  at  Tas- 
kossen,  on  the  last  day  of  the  year,  on  the  position 
which  the  Turks  had  taken  up  by  throwing  back 
their  left  flank  to  oppose  the  Russian  advance 
against  their  rear.  Their  troops  were  commanded 
by  the  well-known  Valentine  Baker,  who  made  a 
short  but  good  defense,  keeping  it  up  until  a  dense 
fog  settled  just  before  sunset,  and  prevented  Gour- 
ko's  getting  in  the  rear  of  the  main  Turkish  army 


The  Winter  Campaign.  103 

and  bagging  it  entire,  as  the  Turkish  army  was  bag- 
ged at  Shipka. 

It  was  a  pretty  fight  to  look  at.  The  Turks  had 
a  good  position  along  a  pass  in  a  spur  of  the  moun- 
tain through  which  the  road  passed.  They  were 
on  high  ground,  and  the  Russians  had  to  advance 
through  an  open  valley.  In  front  of  them,  directly 
opposite  to  the  Turkish  position  and  about  two 
miles  from  it,  was  a  high  spur  on  which  we  were 
situated,  and  from  which  every  movement  of  the 
battle  could  be  seen  with  perfect  clearness. 

The  Turks  gave  way  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  but  it  was  impossible  to  follow  them  for 
any  distance  at  that  late  hour  of  the  short  winter 
day,  as  the  weather  was  inclement  and  the  men 
were  exhausted.  The  next  morning,  New  Year's 
day,  the  troops  were  put  in  motion,  the  general  and 
staff  preceding  them  with  a  small  escort.  As  they 
rode  through  the  pass  they  came  into  a  small  valley 
not  over  four  miles  in  width,  in  rear  of  the  main 
range  of  the  Balkans,  which  bounded  it  on  the 
north,  while  natural  spurs  encircled  it  on  the  other 
sides.  The  principal  body  of  the  Turks  had  been  on 
the  Balkans,  and  the  general  looked  eagerly  to  see 
whether  they  still  remained  there ;  nothing  could 
be  discerned.  But  off  on  the  right  he  noticed  a 
few  black  clots  moving  toward  the  south  over  a 
snow-covered  slope.     With  our  glasses  we  thought 


104  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

that  a  large  body  of  troops  could  be  seen  massed  in 
and  near  the  village  at  the  foot  of  the  slope,  about 
three  miles  off.  The  leading  Russian  battalions  and 
batteries  were  immediately  hurried  in  that  direction, 
and,  in  a  few  minutes  afterward,  an  enormous  black 
mass,  like  a  swarm  of  busy  ants,  was  seen  slowly 
ascending  the  mountain.  Evidently  a  portion  of 
the  Turks  were  in  retreat,  but  the  Russians  knew 
nothing  of  what  had  transpired  at  their  principal 
position,  and  scanned  eagerly  the  sides  of  the  main 
range  in  search  of  further  developments,  while  a 
few  ofificers  were  sent  forward  to  reconnoiter.  Sooia 
afterward,  a  long  winding  column  made  its  appear- 
ance, descending  the  southern  slope  of  the  main 
range.  Was  it  the  rest  of  the  Turks,  or  was  it  a 
portion  of  the  Russians  ?  Ofificers  were  sent  off 
post-haste  to  learn.  In  less  than  half  an  hour  one 
of  them  came  galloping  back  to  say  that  it  was 
their  own  men,  and  that  the  whole  position  on  the 
Balkans  had  been  abandoned  during  the  night. 
The  troops  we  saw  off  on  our  right  were,  therefore, 
a  large  rear-guard  of  the  Turkish  army.  The  gene- 
ral took  out  of  his  pocket  a  piece  of  chocolate, — the 
only  delicacy  he  had  with  him, — and  divided  it  with 
his  staff  in  congratulation  of  their  success;  for,  in 
fact,  the  supposed  impassable  line  of  the  main  Bal- 
kan range  had  been  passed  in  the  depth  of  win- 
ter, and  the  Turks  were  in  full  retreat.     Short  dis- 


The   Winter  Campaign.  105 

patches  were  at  once  written  and  sent  to  the  end  of 
the  field-telegraph  on  the  other  side  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  others,  more  at  length,  were  written  later 
in  the  day  and  given  to  an  officer,  to  take  with  the 
utmost  speed  and  deliver  into  the  Emperor's  own 
hands  at  St.  Petersburg,  It  was  a  New  Year's  con- 
gratulation worth  offering. 

Five  days  later  the  Russian  troops  entered  the 
town  of  Sophia,  which  the  Turks  had  evacuated 
during  the  preceding  night.  At  the  entrance  of 
the  town  they  were  met  by  a  procession  of  two  or 
three  thousand  people,  headed  by  a  large  number 
of  priests  of  the  orthodox  church,  attired  in  the 
robes  of  their  office.  Some  of  them  bore  crucifixes 
of  silver,  which  were  presented  to  the  Russian  com- 
mander, who  devoutly  uncovered  his  head,  crossed 
himself  three  times,  and  kissed  them.  Others  car- 
ried a  silver  platter  containing  a  loaf  of  bread  and 
some  salt — the  ancient  emblems  of  hospitality. 
Behind  them  was  a  choir  of  several  hundred  voices, 
that  immediately  began  singing  an  anthem.  The 
rest  of  the  crowd  was  made  up  of  Bulgarians,  who 
broke  forth  into  loud  cheers  and  shouts  of  welcome 
as  the  Russians  rode  along  past  them. 

This  town,  which  was  founded  by  the  Byzantine 
Emperor  Constantine  in  the  sixth  century,  captured 
by   the   Bulgarians   and   made  their  capital    in   the 

ninth  century,  conquered  by  the  Turks  in  1382,  and 

5* 


io6  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

now  reconquered  by  Christians  in  1878,  presented 
strange  scenes — scenes  which  have  httle  in  com- 
mon with  the  nineteenth  century  as  wc  understand 
it,  and  arc  possible  now  in  no  other  civiHzcd  land 
but  Turkey. 

Nearly  all  the  shops  had  been  owned  by  Turks  or 
a  few  Greeks.  The  Turkish  population  had  cither 
fled  with  the  Turkish  troops  or  had  hidden  out  of 
sight,  and  for  about  eight  hours — from  two  o'clock 
in  the  night,  when  the  Turks  left,  until  ten  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  when  the  Russians  entered — the 
Bulgarians  had  been  engaged  in  indiscriminate  and 
ruthless  pillage.  Every  shop  in  the  town  had  been 
broken  open,  and  its  contents  carried  off  or  scat- 
tered about  the  streets.  The  Russians  very  quickly 
brought  order  out  of  this  confusion.  Their  Cossack 
whips  were  freely  used  on  the  backs  of  the  Bul- 
garians, and  any  person  found  with  goods  in  the 
street  or  suspicious-looking  property  in  his  house 
was  required  to  bring  it  into  one  of  the  open 
squares  of  the  town,  where  it  was  heaped  up  in 
great  piles  and  guarded  by  sentries  until  its  owner- 
ship could  be  clearly  proven. 

The  only  solitary  instance  of  pillage  by  the  troops 
— a  Cossack  who  was  found  guilty  of  stealing  a 
watch  from  a  man  in  the  street — was  summarily 
punished  by  hanging  within  an  hour  from  the  time 
of  the  robbery. 


TJic   Winter  Campaign.  107 

This  instance  of  pillage  by  the  Bulgarians  was, 
unfortunately,  not  the  exception — it  was  the  com- 
mon rule  on  similar  occasions ;  and  as  the  war  went 
on  and  instances  of  it  multiplied,  it  sadly  dampened 
the  ardent  enthusiasm  with  which  the  Russians  had 
begun  the  war  for  the  relief  of  their  suffering  co- 
religionists. Misgovernment  extending  over  cen- 
turies cannot  be  righted  without  the  hatred  which 
it  has  engendered  finding  vent  in  horrible  excesses, 
and  this  war  will  stand  out  pre-eminent  among 
those  of  modern  times  for  the  suffering  which  it  in- 
flicted upon  the  non-combatant  population.  When- 
ever the  Russian  armies  approached  a  village,  the 
Turkish  population  abandoned  everything  and  fled 
before  them  ;  Avhen  the  Russians  were  obliged  to 
fall  back  and  the  Turks  followed  in  pursuit,  the 
Bulgarians  fled  before  them  ;  when,  finally,  the 
Russian  advance  surged  forward  during  the  winter 
without  interruption  to  the  gates  of  Constantinople, 
a  large  portion  of  the  entire  Mohammedan  popula- 
tion left  their  homes  and  villages,  and  packing  a  few 
possessions  and  still  less  food  in  one  or  two  bullock 
wagons,  they  formed  the  nucleus  of  caravans  of 
refugees — one  of  which,  receiving  fresh  additions 
at  every  village,  finally  stretched  out  over  a  length 
of  twenty  miles  and  contained  two  hundred  thou- 
sand souls ! 

This  great  train  became  mingled  with  the  retreat- 


io8  Ami}'  Life  in  Russia. 

ing  Turkish  troops,  and  was  caught  between  two 
fractions  of  the  advancing  Russians — General  Gour- 
ko  from  Sophia  and  General  Skobeleff  from  Shipka. 
Its  escort  of  a  few  battalions  foolishly  made  a  de- 
fense against  the  troops  of  the  latter  general,  and 
being  beaten  it  took  refuge  in  flight  toward  the 
Rhodope  Mountains,  followed  by  all  the  able- 
bodied  portion  of  the  community,  who  left  the  old, 
the  sick,  and  the  babes  to  perish  in  the  snow.  The 
train  was  at  once  plundered  of  all  its  possessions  by 
the  Bulgarians  of  the  neighboring  villages,  who 
mercilessly  put  to  death  all  those  who  had  not  yet 
perished  of  cold.  For  three  successive  days  we 
marched  through  the  remnants  of  this  caravan, 
scattered  over  a  length  of  seventy  miles, — broken 
wagons,  scattered  contents,  dead  animals  ;  here  a 
man  and  his  wife,  who  had  stretched  a  blanket  in 
the  snow  and  lain  down  to  die  side  by  side  ;  there 
a  stately  old  Turk,  with  flowing  white  beard,  green 
turban,  and  brightly  figured  robe,  lying  by  the  ditch 
with  his  throat  cut  from  ear  to  ear  ;  and  again  a 
naked  little  infant  frozen  stiff  in  the  snow,  with  its 
eyes  upturned  to  heaven.  Our  blood  curdled  as  we 
saw  a  Bulgarian  clot,  grinning  and  staring  at  us 
from  the  road-side,  who  answered  as  we  asked  him 
who  murdered  those  two  Turks  lying  a  few  feet 
from  us : 

"  Nashc  brattc!  "     (Our  brothers,  we  did  it.) 


The   Winter  Campaign.  109 

In  the  villages  which  the  Turks  had  left,  their 
houses,  land,  and  effects  were  all  promptly  seized 
and  used  by  the  Bulgarians.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
the  wagons  of  the  caravan  were  found  silver  altar- 
pieces  which  the  Mohammedans  had  stolen  from 
the  Christian  churches  before  beginning  their  flight. 

Meanwhile,  the  refugees  of  this  particular  cara- 
van eked  out  a  precarious  existence  in  the  Rhodope 
Mountains  until  spring,  when,  aided  and  led  by  one 
or  two  English  adventurers,  they  began  an  insur- 
rection against  the  Russian  troops  who  had  been 
left  to  guard  the  line  of  communications.  When 
this  had  been  subdued,  some  months  later,  the  tale 
of  their  sufferings  reached  Constantinople,  and  a 
commission  of  foreign  consuls  was  sent  to  investi- 
gate the  matter.  They  reported  that  more  than  a 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  homeless  and  starving 
refugees  were  scattered  about  in  the  villages  of  this 
inhospitable  region,  with  no  resources  of  food  or 
clothing  for  the  coming  winter.  Subscriptions 
were  opened  in  England  for  their  relief,  and  meas- 
ures were  taken,  the  war  being  now  over,  to  return 
them  to  their  homes.  Arriving  there,  they  found 
all  their  property  appropriated  by  others,  and  they 
met  with  a  bleak  reception  from  the  Bulgarians, 
who  imagined  they  had  seen  the  List  of  their  long- 
time enemies  and  oppressors;  and  it  is  question- 
able whether  it  would  not   have  been  more  humane 


1 10  Aniiy  Life  in  Russia. 

ill  the  end,  as  several  Russians  suggested,  to  make 
them  continue  their  flight  to  Asia. 

The  caravan,  of  which  I  have  spoken  was  the 
largest,  but  it  w^as  only  one  of  many.  The  migra- 
tion of  the  others  continued  all  the  way  to  Constan- 
tinople, where,  on  the  arrival  of  the  Russians,  there 
were  reported  to  be  three  hundred  thousand  refu- 
gees. The  mosque  of  St.  Sophia  alone  contained 
nearly  three  thousand  of  them  when  I  first  saw  it. 
They  were  herded  about  in  mosques  and  in  open 
squares  until  the  typhus  fever  broke  out  among 
them,  w'hen  the  Turkish  authorities  displayed  un- 
w-onted  energy  and  in  a  few  days  dispersed  the 
whole  mass,  sending  about  half  of  them  over  into 
Asia  and  the  other  half  back  toward  Bulgaria. 

It  is  probably  within  the  limit  of  fact  to  say  that 
seven  hundred  thousand  Mohammedans  abandoned 
their  homes  and  possessions  during  the  war,  and  set 
forth  on  a  long  journey  the  aim  and  end  of  which 
they  knew  not,  and  that  not  one-half  of  them  have 
ever  returned,  and  a  large  proportion  have  perished. 
In  addition  to  this,  about  three  hundred  thousand 
Bulgarians  abandoned,  their  homes  at  the  time  of 
Gourko's  retreat  in  July.  A  million  of  people  were 
thus  wandering  about  during  the  course  of  the  war, 
with  only  such  possessions  as  two  or  three  families 
could  pack  into  one  bullock-wagon.  The  sufferings 
which  they  endured  can  never  be  told,  much  less 


The   Winter  Campaign.  iii 

appreciated.  Even  now,  more  than  two  years  after 
the  events  of  which  I  am  writing,  we  constantly- 
read  in  the  papers  of  a  new  commission  being 
formed  to  make  arrangements  for  returning  the 
Turkish  refugees  to  their  homes. 

The  Russians  stayed  at  Sophia  just  a  week,  recu- 
perating the  men  and  getting  together  the  suppHes 
for  a  further  advance.  Their  way  then  lay  on  the 
ancient  Roman  road  to  Adrianople.  They  had  to 
cross  a  second  range  of  mountains,  where  the  same 
difficulties  were  encountered  with  the  guns  as  before, 
only  lessened  to  the  extent  that  smooth  roads  are 
less  difficult  than  mountain  paths,  although  both  be 
covered  with  frozen,  icy  snow.  Emerging  from  the 
mountains  at  last  in  the  wide  and  beautiful  plain  of 
the  Maritza,  they  came  nearly  up  with  the  retreating 
Turks,  and  then  for  three  days,  marching  from  day- 
light to  dark,  and  always  in  sight  of  each  other,  they 
kept  up  the  exciting  chase,  hardly  stopping  long 
enough  to  extinguish  the  blazing  fires  in  every  vil- 
lage which  marked  the  line  of  Turkish  march. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day,  the  advance 
guard,  under  Count  Shouvaloff,  with  whom  I  was 
marching,  were  met  by  some  cavalry  which  were 
scouting  on  their  right,  who  reported  that  a  column 
of  Turks  were  moving  directly  toward  a  village 
just  abreast  of  them,  with  the  intention  of  crossing 
the   Maritza   River  and   gaining   the   high-road    on 


112  Arjfiy  Life'  in  Russia. 

which  ihc}'  were.  Count  Shouvaloff  immediately 
turned  his  men  to  the  right,  and  they  pkmged  into 
the  stream — a  river  more  than  a  hundred  yards 
wide  and  four  feet  deep,  filled  with  cakes  of  floating 
ice  which  struck  against  the  men's  breasts  as  they 
forded  it.  Arrived  on  the  other  side,  their  clothing 
was  soon  stiff  with  ice ;  but  the  men  pressed  on 
through  the  village  and  formed  on  the  opposite 
side.  But  the  Turks  had  already  seen  their  move- 
ments, and  had  turned  back  to  the  railroad  along 
which  they  were  marching,  and  continued  their 
retreat  in  that  direction.  The  rear  of  the  column, 
on  a  good  run,  was  over  half  a  mile  from  us ; 
the  sun  was  just  setting,  and  Shouvaloff  had  only 
about  5,000  men  at  hand.  He  rightly  argued:  If 
they  have  a  large  force,  I  am  too  weak  for  them 
to-day;  if  a  small  force,  I  would  rather  they  escape 
than  that  my  men  should  freeze  to  death  Avith  their 
icy  clothes  in  these  fields  to-night.  So,  sending  a 
small  force  of  cavalry  to  reconnoiter  their  strength, 
he  turned  his  men  back  to  the  village  and  bade 
thom  crowd  twenty  or  thirty  into  each  hut,  and  dry 
their  clothes  around  blazing  fires.  The  general 
picked  out  one  of  the  squalid  little  huts  for  himself, 
and  invited  the  two  foreign  ofificers  who  were 
present.  Major  von  Liegnitz  and  myself,  as  well 
as  his  chief  of  staff  and  two  aids-de-camp,  one  of 
whom  was  his  son,  to  share  it  with  him.     We  got 


The  Whiter  Campaign.  113 

some  black  bread  of  the  peasants,  and  each  one 
contributed  a  httle  tea  or  potted  meats — whatever 
he  had  in  his  saddle,  the  wagons  being  all  behind — 
to  make  a  meal.  Afterward  we  discussed  the  pro- 
babilities of  the  next  day.  There  was  plainly 
visible  from  our  hut  a  long  line  of  fires  stretching 
across  the  country,  about  three  miles  from  us. 
Liegnitz  had,  as  the  sequel  proved,  the  best  mili- 
tary instinct,  and  argued  that  this  was  a  line  of 
bivouac  fires  of  a  large  body  of  Turkish  troops,  who 
had  selected  that  position  to  give  battle ;  the  others 
inclined  to  the  opinion  that  the  fires  were  caused 
by  burning  the  tops  of  the  rice  stalks  which  pro- 
jected above  the  snow.  In  any  event,  the  necessary 
orders  were  given  by  the  general  for  the  disposition 
of  the  troops  for  the  morrow — for  an  attack  if  the 
Turks  stood  firm,  or  for  a  pursuit  if  they  should 
retreat.  Then  wc  sandwiched  ourselves  about  on 
the  floor,  and  slept  during  the  night.  Two  thoughts 
kept  running  through  my  mind  :  one  was  the  con- 
trast between  the  present  squalid  surroundings  of 
Count  Shouvaloff  and  his  large  estates,  and  beau- 
tiful home  in  St.  Petersburg,  and  his  patriotism  in 
leaving  all  this  and  asking  to  come  to  the  army  in 
an  inferior  position  after  having  been  passed  over 
in  the  first  assignment  of  generals;  and  the  other 
was  about  my  own  position — going  again  into  a 
battle  in  which  I  might  lose  my  life  as  easily  as  any 


114  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

one  else,  but  in  wliich  I  had  no  more  direct  concern 
than  that  of  an  observer  watch ini;"  the  development 
of  an  interesting  problem,  in  which  if  I  got  hit  I 
would  neither  receive  nor  be  entitled  to  any  sympa- 
thy, and  to  the  result  of  which  I  was  incapable  of 
contributing  in  any  way  Avhatever.  There  is  a  pecu- 
liar sense  of  foolishness  in  the  feeling  of  being  hit 
as  a  bystander  in  a  row.  But  our  thoughts  are 
mastered  by  physical  needs,  and  one  sleeps  easily 
after  bodily  exhaustion,  no  matter  in  what  sur- 
roundings. 

We  were  up  before  daylight  the  next  morning, 
and  just  as  the  sun  arose — a  bright  morning  of 
intensely  bitter  cold — the  troops  which  had  come 
up  during  the  night,  and  slept  in  the  fields  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  began  crossing  the  stream. 
As  they  had  to  fight  all  day  in  the  snow  it  was  very 
important  that  their  clothing  should  not  be  wet, 
and  they  were  therefore  ordered  to  strip  naked,  roll 
their  clothes  in  a  bundle  and  carry  them  on  their 
heads.  As  they  came  out  of  the  icy  river  they  were 
as  red  as  boiled  lobsters,  but  made  merry  as  they 
squatted  about  in  the  snow  to  put  on  their  clothes. 
They  then  formed  and  marched  through  the  village, 
where  the  general  saluted  them  as  usual. 

"  Good-morning,  my  men." 

•'Good-morning,  your  Highness." 

"  Did  you  burn  your  feet  coming  over?" 


The  Winter  Campaign.  115 

"  No,  indeed,  your  Highness!"  they  answered  in 
a  shout,  as  a  broad  grin  stole  over  their  good- 
natured  faces. 

The  troops  were  soon  deployed  in  the  fields  out- 
side the  village,  and,  looking  in  the  direction  of  the 
fires  we  had  noticed  the  night  before,  we  saw^  a 
ridge  of  slight  elevation  rising  out  of  the  rice-fields, 
and  at  intervals  along  it  were  several  batteries,  and 
we  knew  very  well  that  plenty  of  infantry  lay  either 
between  or  behind  them.  The  advance  was  gradu- 
ally made  toward  this  position,  and  when  the  line  of 
skirmishers  came  within  about  two  thousand  yards 
of  it,  the  artillery  opened  fire,  accomp^inied  by  some 
straggling  infantry  shots.  The  men  were  ordered 
to  advance  slowly,  or  to  lie  down  in  the  furrows  of 
the  field,  as  it  was  not  intended  to  attack  seriously 
from  this  side. 

The  Turkish  artillery  kept  up  a  good  racket,  and 
one  battery  in  particular  singled  out  the  general's 
staff  and  followed  us  closely,  as  we  moved  over  the 
field,  with  its  shells  and  shrapnel ;  for  the  former  we 
cared  little,  as  they  buried  themselves  in  the  ground, 
spattering  the  mud  and  snow  over  us,  but  the  shrap- 
nel breaking  in  the  air  just  over  your  head,  and  its 
pieces  and  bullets  screaming  past  you,  has  an  ugly 
and  disagreeable  sound.  In  about  an  hour  the  men 
had  got  up  in  good  range,  and  the  battle  was  in  full 
play.     It  was  not  an  exciting  spectacle.     The  whole 


Il6  Artny  Life  in  Russia. 

plan  of  the  fight,  which  lasted  this  day  (January 
15th)  and  the  two  following  days,  was  to  hold  the 
Turks,  with  whose  rear  the  Russians  had  caught  up, 
in  place,  while  other  portions  of  the  Russian  troops 
should  pass  around  their  right  and  rear,  and  either 
capture  the  whole  force  or  cut  them  off  from  their 
line  of  retreat  along  the  high-road,  and  drive  them 
into  the  Rhodope  Mountains.  The  part  assigned 
to  Count  ShouvalofT's  troops  was  therefore  to  sim- 
ply engage  the  Turks  with  sufficient  energy  to  keep 
them  in  position.  This  sort  of  affair  was  entirely 
deficient  in  the  dramatic  grandeur  of  the  magnifi- 
cent advance^  in  line  at  Plevna.  The  two  lines  now 
lay  down,  firing  away  at  each  other  with  right  good 
will,  and  the  artillery  on  each  side  increasing  the 
din.  But  on  either  side  there  was  no  movement 
visible,  except  of  couriers  or  generals  moving  along 
their  men,  or  occasionally  a  battery  shifting  its  po- 
sition. We  sat  on  our  horses,  a  few  hundred  yards 
behind  the  line  of  skirmishers,  nearly  an  hour, 
watching  the  monotonous  progress  of  the  fight. 
We  were  a  group  of  perhaps  twenty  horsemen  in 
all,  counting  the  orderlies,  and  we  were  under  a 
large  branching  tree,  hoping  that  this  would  make 
us  less  prominent.  But  the  singing  of  the  bullets 
gradually  increased  in  such  a  degree  as  to  let  us 
know  that  we  were  becoming  a  special  target. 
Finally  the  well-known  "  s-s-s-s-st;//  "  of  a  bullet  that 


The   Whiter  Campaign.  wj 

has  struck,  as  distinct  from  the  "  whiss-j--i--j' "  of  one 
that  has  gone  by,  made  us  all  turn,  and  we  saw  a 
young  orderly  ofificer  in  the  rear  of  the  group  bend- 
ing over  his  saddle,  with  his  hand  at  his  head.  He 
fell  from  his  horse  into  the  arms  of  a  couple  of  Cos- 
sacks who  had  dismounted  to  help  him,  and  was 
laid  down  in  the  snow,  while  the  nearest  passing 
stretcher  was  called  to  carry  him  off.  The  bullet 
had  passed  through  his  forehead,  and  he  was  dead 
when  he  reached  the  nearest  temporary  hospital. 
In  taking  off  his  overcoat,  it  was  then  noticed  that 
he  had  another  bullet  directly  through  his  heart. 

Strange  fate,  that  out  of  twenty  men  standing 
quietly  under  fire  for  an  hour,  but  one,  and  he  the 
youngest,  should  be  hit,  and  with  two  bullets  simul- 
taneously, either  one  of  which  was  certainly  fatal ! 

This  incident  warned  us  to  move  away  from  this 
place,  and  we  rode  slowly  across  to  a  part  of  the 
ground  where  a  small  brook,  with  banks  about  four 
feet  high,  meandered  through  the  field.  The  general 
peremptorily  ordered  his  staff  to  dismount  and  sit 
down  under  the  shelter  of  the  bank,  and  to  have 
their  horses  led  behind  a  neighboring  clump  of 
bushes.  He,  Major  Liegnitz,  and  myself  then 
walked  up  and  down  for  a  while,  looking  at  the 
Turkish  line,  and  talking  of  the  probable  result  of 
the  day.  Presently  two  or  three  of  the  horses  were 
hit,  and  the  general  then  politely  requested   Lieg- 


ii8  Ar?ny  Life  in  Russia. 

nitz  antl  myself  to  also  shelter  ourselves  under  the 
bank.  lie  was  then  left  alone  on  the  bank,  and  I 
shall  long  remember  the  picture  of  him,  in  his  long 
overcoat,  pacing  up  and  down  in  the  snow,  the  noise, 
but  inertness  of  the  battle,  and  the  incessant  whiz- 
zing of  the  bullets  over  our  heads.  Many  of  them, 
plunging  just  over  us,  traced  little  furrows  in  the 
snow,  barely  beyond  our  feet;  and  we  commented 
on  the  infinite  variety  which  could  be  made  in  the 
simple  sound  of  "  whiss-s-s-s." 

Two  or  three  hours  later,  as  no  new  develop- 
ments were  taking  place  here,  I  determined  to  set 
out  to  find  General  Gourko,  the  commanding  gen- 
eral, and  learn  the  news  of  the  battle  on  the  other 
flank.  I  rode  back  with  my  orderly  over  the  field, 
past  the  reserves  and  back  into  the  village.  Here 
were  some  temporary  hospitals  in  the  huts,  and 
here  also  were  the  skulkers,  who  are  always  found 
in  the  rear  of  every  battle-field.  Little  groups  of 
five  or  six  men,  who  had  probably  got  there  by 
bringing  back  the  wounded,  were  crouched  against 
the  hedges  of  the  gardens  here  and  there,  laughing, 
chatting,  eating,  amusing  themselves  in  any  way,  in 
as  utter  disregard  of  the  battle  which  was  roaring 
in  their  ears,  and  in  which  the  lives  of  their  com- 
rades were  at  stake,  as  if  they  had  been  at  home  in 
Russia. 

Crossing    the    river    again,    I    saw    considerable 


TJic   Winter  Campaign.  1 19 

masses  of  troops  in  reserve  lying  down  in  the 
fields,  and  was  warned  by  an  officer  that  the  direct 
road  to  the  left  of  the  Russian  position  was  com- 
manded by  a  very  heavy  fire,  and  that  I  would  do 
well  to  circle  around  behind  the  troops.  The  river 
was  bordered  with  quite  a  considerable  growth  of 
small  trees,  which  shut  out  the  Turks  from  direct 
view,  but  the  bullets  which  came  whistling  from 
that  direction  gave  very  plain  indication  of  their 
whereabouts. 

The  plain  was  dotted  here  and  there  with  ancient 
tumuli,  about  eight  to  ten  feet  high,  and  I  rode 
from  one  to  another  of  these  in  search  of  General 
Gourko.  I  finally  saw  in  the  distance  a  consid- 
erable number  of  horses  and  dismounted  men  be- 
hind one  of  these,  and  riding  up  found  it  was  the 
general  and  his  staff.  He  and  his  chief  of  staff 
were  stretched  flat  on  the  top  of  the  mound,  peer- 
ing over  the  top  with  their  glasses,  and  the  rest  of 
the  group  were  crowded  together  at  its  base.  As  I 
came  up  he  turned  around  and  slid  down  the 
mound  for  a  short  distance,  and  asked  mc  to  sit 
down  and  tell  him  how  things  were  going  in  Count 
Shouvaloff's  front,  and  also  asked  if  I  had  seen 
anything  on  my  way  of  a  certain  brigade  whose  ar- 
rival he  was  awaiting  with  the  utmost  impatience, 
as  they  were  to  move  around  the  flank  of  the  enemy 
and  block  his  retreat. 


120  Ar7nf  Life  in  Russia. 

How  very  prosaic  a  modern  battle  can  be  with  its 
long-range  muskets,  and  especially  in  the  middle  of 
Januar\',  with  the  thermometer  away  below  freez- 
ing !  There  was  a  deafening  roar,  two  curving 
lines  of  black  dots  could  just  be  distinguished  in 
the  snow,  and  the  bullets  were  singing  over  our 
heads  as  we  squatted  behind  a  mound — and  that 
was  all  of  the  picture.  Yet  it  would  have  been  the 
merest  masquerading  for  the  general  and  his  staff 
to  go  parading  up  and  down  the  field  to  draw  the 
fire  of  sharp-shooters.  He  was  in  the  most  central 
part  of  the  field  and  on  the  greatest  eminence — in- 
significant as  it  was— that  the  field  afforded.  Nev- 
ertheless, at  the  time  I  could  not  help  thinking  how 
tame  it  all  was,  as  a  mere  spectacle — how  little  ac- 
tion there  was  in  it.  Yet  this  is  the  characteristic 
of  nearly  all  battles  now  up  to  the  last  moment  of 
the  final  advance,  which  is  decisive  of  victory  or 
defeat,  but  which  seldom  lasts  half  an  hour.  The 
range  of  the  infantry  aim  is  so  great  (a  mile  and  a 
quarter)  that  the  action  may  become  fierce,  and 
many  thousands  of  men  can  be  hit  without  either 
side  clearly  seeing  its  opponents,  and  one  must  be 
well  inside  the  line  of  infantry  fire  to  follow  the 
movements  clearly,  even  with  a  glass.  Cavalry 
charges  cannot  stand  under  the  withering  fire  of 
rapid  breech-loaders,  and  the  final  advance  of  in- 
fantry will  only  be  made  after  hours  of  preliminary 


TJie   Winter  Campaign.  121 

but  possibly  deadly  maneuvering  have  been  passed. 
The  dramatic  features  of  battle  have  become  very 
short-lived  and  infrequent. 

This  day's  fight  brought  no  permanent  result. 
The  brigade  that  was  to  get  in  rear  of  the  Turks 
came  too  late,  and  the  latter  slipped  through  the 
gap  and  took  up  another  position  a  few  miles  in 
rear.  As  night  came  on  the  firing  simmered  down, 
and  the  general  and  staff  sought  the  nearest  village 
for  shelter. 

In  the  morning,  the  battle  was  renewed  on  the 
same  principle  as  before,  of  trying  to  hold  the 
Turks  on  one  side  and  get  around  them  on  the 
other.  While  it  was  going  on,  the  general  and 
staff  rode  along  the  road  toward  the  left  of  his 
position,  near  the  large  town  of  Philippopolis, 
about  four  miles  off.  This  town  is  peculiarly 
situated.  It  was  founded  in  the  days  of  the  con- 
quests of  Philip  of  Macedon,  when  war  was  made 
at  short  range,  and  the  party  who  was  the  high- 
est had  a  great  advantage ;  and  when  a  town 
situated  on  an  eminence,  from  which  an  advanc- 
ing enemy  could  be  seen  in  time,  was  sure  of  a 
good  defense.  For  these  reasons,  the  town  was 
perched  on  the  sides  of  three  abrupt  rocky  emi- 
nences which  rise  in  solitary  grandeur  from  the 
midst  of  a  plain,  which  is  hardly  broken  for  twenty 
miles  in  one  direction  and  sixty  in  another.     Its  ap- 


122  Arwj  Life  in  Russia. 

pearancc  is  at  once  unique  and  striking.  It  stood 
boldly  out  against  the  sky  as  we  rode  toward  it, 
and  our  thoughts  naturally  drifted  back  through 
the  long  scries  of  strange  scenes  it  has  witnessed 
during  these  last  three  and  twenty  centuries.  There 
is  no  bloodier  cock-pit  in  all  Europe  than  these 
plains  of  ancient  Thrace,  the  fertile  and  beautiful 
valley  of  the  Maritza  or  Hebrus.  Here  the  Mace- 
donians, under  Philip  and  Alexander,  first  subdued 
the  Thracian  tribes;  here  the  Romans,  under  Trajan 
and  Adrian,  passed  on  their  conquests  of  the  lands 
beyond  the  Danube ;  here  they  built  roads  and 
other  public  works  during  their  administration, 
which  still  exist  to-day.  Here  the  Bulgarians  fought 
for  the  foundation  of  their  kingdom  out  of  the  tot- 
tering ruins  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  East ; 
through  this  same  valley  the  contending  hosts  of 
Christians  and  Turks  have  surged  back  and  forward 
for  the  past  five  centuries ;  and  here,  finally,  under 
the  shadow  of  the  three  rocky  peaks  on  which 
Philip  of  Macedon  founded  the  town  of  his  own 
name  in  the  fourth  century  before  Christ,  was  now 
being  fought  the  last  great  battle  of  the  latest  war 
in  the  long  series  of  those  which  have  been  fought 
on  the  questions  of  whether  the  Turks  shall  live 
and  govern  in  Europe.  The  mind  is  staggered  by 
the  long  retrospect  of  history  which  the  associa- 
tions of  this  place  call  forth,  and  we  felt  that  we 


TJie   Winter  Campaign.  123 

were  now  assisting  at  one  of  the  not  least  impor- 
tant steps  of  that  development  of  historical  se- 
quence. The  advance  of  this  Christian  army  and 
the  retreat  of  the  Mohammedan,  and  the  still  more 
important  migration  of  the  immense  numbers  of 
refugees  in  front  of  us,  marked  one  of  the  final 
periods — not  the  last,  but  very  near  it — of  that  re- 
trocession of  the  Turkish  wave  of  conquest,  which 
came  into  Europe  only  to  blight  every  land  where 
it  penetrated,  and  which  has  now  been  surely  re- 
ceding for  two  centuries,  and  early  in  the  next  cen- 
tury, at  the  latest,  will  be  gone  forever. 

The  battle  of  Philippopolis  lasted  throughout  the 
15th,  i6th,  and  17th  of  January.  On  the  afternoon 
of  the  last  day,  the  Russians  had  gained  positions 
on  three  sides  of  the  Turks,  and  cut  them  off  from 
their  line  of  retreat  toward  Adrianoplc.  The  latter 
fought  with  their  backs  to  the  mountains,  and 
fought  hard  and  well,  as  the  Turkish  rank  and  file 
always  do.  But,  on  a  final  advance  of  the  Russians, 
they  were  obliged  to  abandon  all  their  artillery  and 
train,  and  disperse  in  small  bands  over  the  Rhodope 
Mountains  to  the  yEgcan.  Pursuit  was  impossible, 
and  these  scattered  detachments  pursued  their  way 
unmolested  until,  two  weeks  later,  they  reached  the 
shores  of  the  sea,  and  were  picked  up  by  ships  of  the 
Turkish  navy  and  transported  to  Constantinople. 

The  Shipka  army  having  been  captured  in  bulk. 


124  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

and  Suleiman's  Sophia  army  having  been  routed 
and  dispersed,  no  armed  force  of  any  magnitude  lay 
between  the  Russians  and  Constantinople.  They 
entered  Philippopolis  and  remained  there  four  days 
to  refit,  then  pressed  on  to  Adrianople,  where  we 
found  General  Skobeleff's  detachment,  which  had 
arrived  two  days  before  us.  From  there  the  ad- 
vance again  pushed  forward  and  came  in  front  of 
the  lines  of  Tchekmedje,  the  defenses  of  Constanti- 
nople, on  the  31st  of  January,  just  fifty-two  days 
after  the  fall  of  Plevna.  On  the  same  day  the  arm- 
istice was  signed  which  put  an  end  to  active  opera- 
tions. 

In  these  fifty-two  days,  the  column  which  I  had 
the  honor  to  accompany  had  marched  six  hundred 
miles  and  had  crossed  two  high  ranges  of  moun- 
tains. The  combined  Russian  forces  had  captured 
one  army  of  40,000  men,  dispersed  another  of  50,000 
men,  had  taken  213  pieces  of  artillery,  over  10,000,- 
000  rounds  of  cartridges,  12,000,000  rations,  and 
enormous  numbers  of  tents,  baggage,  pontoons, 
and  military  supplies  of  every  description.  They 
had,  in  short,  for  the  moment  annihilated  the  mili- 
tary power  of  Turkey,  and  were  only  deterred  from 
entering  Constantinople  by  questions  of  political 
expediency.  The  manner  in  which  the  men  lived, 
and  the  sufferings  which  they  endured  in  the  snow 
and  ice  of  these  fifty-two  days  of  midwinter,  I  have 


The   Winter  Campaign.  125 

endeavored  to  explain  elsewhere  ;*  their  self-abne- 
gation and  cheerfulness  under  great  physical  suf- 
fering, to  which  their  brilliant  success  was  pre-emi- 
nently due,  are  excelled  by  nothing  of  which  we 
have  any  record  in  history,  and  they  entitle  every 
man  of  those  trans-Balkan  columns  to  the  lasting 
gratitude  of  their  own  countrymen  and  the  friends 
of  Christian  government  everywhere,  no  less  than  to 
the  admiration  of  the  entire  world,  which  still  appre- 
ciates the  value  of  military  heroism. 

*  "  The  Russian  Army  and  its  Campaigns  in  Turkey  in  1877-78." 
Pages  369-374- 


CHAPTER   VI. 

RUSSIAN    GENERALS. 

The  advance-guard  on  the  march  from  Adriano- 
ple  to  Constantinople  was  commanded  by  Licuten- 
ant-General  Skobeleff,  and  while  with  it  my  pre- 
vious acquaintance  first  began  to  ripen  into  great 
intimacy  with  two  men — General  Skobeleff  and  Mr. 
J.  A.  MacGahan — who  stand,  as  I  believe,  at  the 
head  of  their  respective  professions ;  professions 
widely  apart — one  of  them  as  old  as  the  history  of 
man,  and  the  other  the  product  of  the  last  thirty 
years ;  professions  which  can  hardly  be  said  to  be 
equal  in  responsibility  and  importance,  yet  between 
which  the  gulf  is  not  so  great ;  for  the  world  is 
governed  not  so  much  by  battles  as  by  politics  ;  pol- 
itics, even  in  the  most  despotic  of  countries,  are  now 
directed  by  public  opinion,  and  public  opinion  is 
largely  formed  by  the  newspapers,  and  by  their  cor- 
respondence rather  than  their  editorials.  These 
are  well-established  facts  of  the  times  we  live  in, 
and  the  vast  influence  of  the  daily  press,  disgraced 
though  it  may  often  be  by  license  and  abuse,  should 

cause  it  to  receive  that  consideration  to  which  its 

126 


Russian  Generals.  127 

importance  entitles  it,  from  military  men  as  well  as 
from  other  functionaries  of  government. 

Newspaper  correspondents  will  hereafter  form  a 
most  important  element  in  every  war,  every  great 
diplomatic  conference,  every  other  great  event  of 
any  character;  and  the  way  to  treat  them  is  not 
to  foolishly  banish  well-trained  professional  men,  as 
the  English  tried  to  do  in  Afghanistan,  and  take  in 
place  of  their  reports  the  crude,  biased,  and  incor- 
rect statements  of  tyros  in  the  form  of  subaltern 
officers,  but  to  treat  the  real  correspondents  with  dig- 
nity, increase  their  sense  of  responsibility,  and  give 
them  every  facility  for  acquiring  correct  informa- 
tion of  facts  that  have  already  transpired  and  are 
concluded  ;  in  short,  to  make  the  position  one  that 
will  be  sought  by  men  of  brains,  energy,  and  a  high 
sense  of  honor,  and  thus  to  see  that  the  world, 
which  will  have  news  of  some  sort,  shall  have  truth- 
ful news 

But  of  the  generals  first,  as  being  the  senior  pro- 
fession. 

Mikhail  Dimitrievitch  Skobeleff  was  born  in  Octo- 
ber, 1845  ;  ^lis  grandfather  rose  from  the  ranks  to  be 
a  famous  general  in  the  Caucasian  wars  of  the  first 
Alexander;  his  father  was  an  officer  of  the  guards, 
and  his  mother  came  of  a  noble  and  wealthy  family 
intimately  connected  by  marriage  with  the  persons 
in  the  court  most  nearly  attached  to  the  Emperor's 


128  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

person.    At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  became  concern- 
ed in  some  disturbance  while  at  the  University,  and 
was  dismissed.     His  father,  who  then  commanded 
the    Emperor's    body-guard,    immediately    entered 
him   in  one  of  the  regiments  of  the  guard,  and  he 
was  sent  to  Poland,  where  he  saw  some  active  ser- 
vice during  the  insurrection  of    1863.     After   this 
war  he  returned  to  St.  Petersburg,  but  soon  tired  of 
the   inactive   garrison   life,    alternating   in    barrack 
duty  and  the  endless  round  of  social  gayety.     As 
he  himself  expressed   it,  the  fine  gentlemen  of  the 
guards  drove  him  out.     He  entered  the  Staff  Col- 
lege, and  at  the  conclusion  of  his  two  years'  service 
of  instruction  was  made  a  captain  and  sent  to  the 
Caucasus  about  1869  or  1870.     After  two  or  three 
years  of  the  ordinary  guerilla  service  against  the 
mountain  tribes  of  that  region,  he  was  transferred 
to  Turkestan,   and  took  part   in  the   Khivan  cam- 
paign of  1873  as  lieutenant-colonel  of  a  regiment  of 
Cossacks.     At  the  close  of  this  campaign  he  made 
a  wonderful  and  famous  journey  through  the  desert, 
accompanied    by  only  two  or  three  Kirghiz,  under 
orders  to  discover  what  was  actually  the  nature  of 
the  country  along  which  the  Krasnovodsk  column 
was  to  have  advanced  from  the  Caspian,  but  which 
had  turned  back  when  half  its  men  had  perished  of 
thirst.     He  was  made  colonel  at  the  close  of  this 
war  and  attached  to  the  staff  of  General  Kaufmann, 


Russian  Generals.  129 

whom  he  accompanied  two  years  later  in  the  first 
expedition  against  Khokand,  For  his  services  in 
this  campaign  he  was  made  a  major-general,  and  in 
the  following  spring,  at  the  age  of  thirty-one,  he  was 
placed  in  command  of  an  independent  force  of  about 
4,000  men,  w^ith  the  aid  of  which  he  completed  the 
conquest  of  Khokand,  and  annexed  to  the  Russian 
empire  a  fertile  province  of  nearly  30,000  square 
miles  and  a  million  of  inhabitants.  The  province 
received  the  name  of  Ferghana,  and  Skobeleff  was 
made  governor  of  it.  For  his  services  in  the 
Khivan  campaign  he  received  the  fourth  class  of 
the  order  of  St.  George,  and  for  the  conquest  of 
Khokand  the  third  class  of  the  same  order — the 
latter  being  a  reward  whose  value  may  be  estimated 
from  the  fact  that  in  the  whole  war  in  Turkey  only 
thirty-seven  of  them  were  bestowed. 

Skobeleff  remained  as  Governor  of  Ferghana  until 
a  few  months  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  war, 
thus  completing  a  tour  of  nearly  seven  years'  con- 
secutive and  active  service  in  the  Caucasus  and 
Central  Asia.  In  this  school  he  learned  his  trade 
as  a  soldier,  and  I  have  often  discussed  with  him 
the  value  of  it,  advancing  the  well-known  theory, 
"  la  petite  guerre  gdte  les  militaires"  and  asserting 
that  great  generals  were  not  formed  in  small  wars 
against  semi-barbaric,  nomadic  people,  and  he,  on 

the  other  hand,  always  maintaining  that  tiic    first 
6* 


130  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

essential  to  a  general  or  any  other  officer  is  tliQ 
habit  of  being  accustomed  to  danger  and  the  re- 
sponsibility of  command  under  fire,  and  that  these 
habits  are  acquired  in  the  wars  of  Central  Asia,  of 
Algeria,  or  on  our  own  plains.  Having  once  ac- 
quired them,  a  man  can  pass  readily  to  the  com- 
mand of  large  bodies  of  troops  if  he  has  the  neces- 
sary talents ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  his  talents  will 
never  be  the  worse  for  his  previous  experience  in 
small  wars.  Without  discussing  this  question,  it 
may  be  said  that  Skobeleff  affords  no  argument  on 
one  side  or  the  other,  for  he  is  a  man  who  is  alto- 
gether exceptional — one  of  those  few  who  have  the 
power  of  rising  superior  to  their  own  surroundings, 
and  make  their  fate  rather  than  follow  it.  He  is  a 
voracious  reader,  and  his  wealth  puts  all  books  at 
his  command,  no  matter  in  what  part  of  the  world 
he  may  be.  In  the  intervals  of  his  campaigns  he 
rhust  have  devoured  books,  for  I  never  met  a  man  so 
thoroughly  posted  in  all  the  salient  facts  of  military 
history,  of  the  principles  of  modern  warfare,  and  of 
the  questions  of  Central  Asiatic  and  Indian  govern- 
ment. And  he  read,  too,  not  as  one  reads  at  home 
or  in  a  university,  but  in  the  midst  of  events,  with  a 
realizing  sense  of  responsibility,  seeing  actualities 
and  not  mere  pictures  in  what  he  read.  For  in- 
stance, in  his  garden  at  Bokhara  he  read  (in  Eng- 
lish) the  story  of  the  destruction  of  Elphinstone's 


Russian  Generals.  131 

column  between  Cabul  and  Djelallabad  in  1842. 
Every  word  of  that  terrible  tale  sunk  deep  into  his 
memory,  for  he  stood  in  precisely  the  same  position 
— had  just  conquered  a  race  of  Asiatics  of  the  same 
type — and  while  he  read  he  half  expected  that  any 
minute,  as  he  sat  in  his  garden,  he  might  hear  of  an 
insurrection  of  the  Khokandians,  as  the  English  at 
their  newly-formed  clubs  in  Cabul  heard  of  the  rising 
of  the  Afghans.  He  once  gave  me  a  summary  of  this 
tale  of  disaster,  and  I  listened  to  him  in  eager  si- 
lence for  several  hours,  as  I  have  listened  to  General 
Sherman  narrate  some  stor>'  of  our  civil  war.  He 
is,  indeed,  the  rival  of  Sherman  as  a  fluent  and 
graphic  speaker. 

Skobeleff  came  to  Russia  in  the  winter  preceding 
the  war,  under  a  cloud  of  suspicion  none  the  less 
heavy  because  of  its  entire  injustice.  In  the  period 
of  inaction  after  the  Khokandian  campaign,  his 
combative  nature  had  determined  to  wage  war  on 
the  rascals  of  the  Supply  Department.  They,  in 
turn,  waged  war  on  him,  and,  being  no  less  skillful 
than  unscrupulous  and  corrupt,  they  succeeded  in 
sending  charges  to  St.  Petersburg  of  the  gravest 
character  against  Skobeleff.  One  of  the  Emperor's 
aids-de-camp  was  sent  out  especially  to  investigate 
the  matter,  and,  as  he  was  courted  by  the  people  of 
the  Supply  Department  and  but  little  heeded  by 
Skobeleff,  he  went  back  and  made  hi»  report  that 


132  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

Skobclcff  was  a  million  of  roubles  short  in  his  ac- 
counts !  As  soon  as  Skobeleff  heard  of  this  he  got 
leave  by  telegraph  from  Kaufmann,  and,  without 
delaying  longer  than  to  pack  up  his  vouchers,  he 
started  for  St.  Petersburg.  There  he  appeared 
before  the  officials  of  the  Treasury  Department  and 
submitted  his  papers.  A  thorough  investigation 
was  made,  and  SkobelefT  was  entirely  acquitted,  and 
received  the  official  statement  of  the  Treasury  De- 
partment that  his  accounts  were  clear  and  correct 
in  every  particular.  But  a  man  of  his  pronounced 
and  aggressive  nature  never  lacks  for  enemies,  and 
he  is,  moreover,  one  of  those  very,  very  rare  instances 
of  a  man  in  Russia  who  dares  to  make  his  own 
career  without  asking  the  aid  of  court  influence  and 
"  protection."  The  result  was  that,  although  offici- 
ally vindicated,  the  cloud  still  rested  on  him ;  and 
the  jealousy  of  a  man  only  thirty-two,  who  had  the 
rank  of  major-general  and  two  crosses  of  St.  George, 
was  so  great  that  he  could  obtain  no  command. 
The  most  that  he  could  get  was  a  nominal  position 
on  the  Grand  Duke's  staff,  en  disponibilit^,  i.e.,  hav- 
ing no  particular  duty,  but  to  be  disposed  of  when 
something  turned  up.  It  was  not  long  before  some- 
thing did  turn  up  for  a  man  of  his  character.  At 
the  passage  of  the  Danube  he  asked  permission  to 
accompany  the  commander  of  the  leading  division 
of  troops — a  major-general  only  slightly  superior  in 


Russian  Generals.  133 

date  to  himself— in  the  quality  of  a  mere  aid-de- 
camp or  orderly  officer,  a  position  usually  filled  by 
lieutenants  and  captains.  To  show  the  stuff  he  was 
made  of,  he  was  not  content  to  cross  in  the  boats, 
but  rode  his  horse  into  the  river  and  swam  the 
entire  width  of  it — a  stream  as  large  as  the  Mis- 
souri near  its  mouth.  The  general  whom  he  accom- 
panied had  never  before  been  in  battle,  and  Sko- 
beleff's  assistance  and  advice  to  him  at  the  critical 
moments  were  of  the  utmost  value — a  fact  to  which 
the  latter  bore  willing  and  generous  testimony  in 
his  official  report. 

A  few  days  later,  in  the  organization  of  the  de- 
tachments for  the  advance,  Skobeleff  received  a 
command — the  same  brigade  of  Caucasian  Cossacks 
of  which  I  have  given  some  account  in  the  previous 
chapter.  With  these  he  was  engaged  in  reconnais- 
sance duty  for  the  next  four  weeks,  until  they  came 
into  pitched  battle  at  the  second  affair  at  Plevna, 
on  July  30th.  Here  he  handled  this  mere  handful 
of  men  with  such  consummate  skill  as  to  save  the 
left  flank  of  the  army  from  annihilation,  and  to  pre- 
vent what  was  in  fact  a  very  serious  defeat  from 
becoming  a  hopeless  rout. 

He  was  then  sent  to  rcconnoitcr  the  position  of 
the  Turks  at  Lovtcha,  which  he  did  in  a  most  tho- 
rough manner;  and,  some  infantry  being  placed 
under  his  command,  he  prepared  all  the  details  of 


134  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

the  subsequent  attack  on  that  phicc  so  effectually 
that  when  the  main  body  of  troops  came  to  make 
the  attack,  their  commander  had  only  to  confirm 
his  dispositions.  In  the  attack  he  commanded  the 
left  wing  of  the  Russian  force,  and  to  such  purpose 
that  the  Grand  Dul'e's  brief  telegram  announcing 
the  affair  to  Russia  concluded  with  the  words, 
"  General  Skobeleff,  Jr.,  w^as  the  hero  of  the  day." 

From  Lovtcha  he  came  to  Plevna,  and  receiving 
the  command  of  the  18,000  men  who  formed  the  left 
flank  of  the  Russian  army,  he  made  that  heroic  but 
unsuccessful  assault  on  the  redoubts  just  south  of 
the  town  which,  on  a  larger  scale,  has  already  taken 
in  the  Russian  annals  a  place  similar  to  that  of  the 
charge  of  the  Light  Brigade  at  Balaklava,  in  the 
English,  or  the  final  assault  of  Sheridan  at  Win- 
Chester,  in  our  own.  He  lost  8,000  men  out  of  his 
18,000,  and  was  driven  out  on  the  next  day  by 
overwhelming  numbers.  The  attack  was  faulty  in 
principle,  and  with  the  force  which  he  had,  was 
doomed  to  failure  from  the  beginning — but  this  was 
no  fault  of  his;  he  simply  obeyed  his  orders,  and 
did  his  utmost  to  accomplish  the  impossible.  And 
although  nearly  fifty  per  cent,  of  his  command  per- 
ished under  him,  yet  from  that  day  his  name  was 
spoken  of  among  the  soldiers  of  the  entire  army  in 
words  of  fables,  as  a  man  whose  bravery  could  not 
be  described.     I  have  heard  them  speak  of  him  as 


Russian  Generals.  135 

a  general  under  whom  they  would  rather  fight  and 
die,  than  fight  and  Hve  under  another ;  for  with 
him  they  knew  they  could  never  come  to  disgrace, 
but  were  sure  they  w^ould  achieve  the  fame  of  mili- 
tary heroes  whether  they  gained  or  lost  the  day. 
whether  they  lived  or  were  killed. 

On  the  following  day  Skobeleff  w'as  made  lieu- 
tenant-general, being  then  not  quite  thirty-three 
years  old,  and  was  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  Sixteenth  Division,  which  command  he  re- 
tained, in  addition,  at  times,  to  the  command  of 
other  divisions,  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  then 
set  to  work  to  make  that  the  most  famous  division  in 
the  army,  and  he  succeeded.  It  is  commonly  spo- 
ken of  to-day  as  "  the  famous  Sixteenth  Division." 
He  won  the  unalterable  affection  of  the  men  by  his 
ceaseless  care  for  their  wants.  They  were  the  best- 
clothed  and  the  best-fed  troops  in  the  army ;  they 
were  never  short  of  ammunition  ;  they  were  never 
needlessly  moved  or  exposed.  If  he  was  without 
public  funds  he  never  hesitated  to  advance,  or  give 
outright,  whatever  private  funds  he  had,  if  it  could  in 
any  way  contribute  to  their  comfort.  At  Constan- 
tinople, for  instance,  when  there  was  considerable 
delay  in  transporting  the  sick  to  Russia,  Skobeleff 
advanced  over  15,000  roubles  out  of  his  own  pocket, 
and  succeeded  in  chartering  an  English  steamer 
then  in  port,  and  obtained  permission  to  ship  the 


136  Artny  Life  in  Russia. 

sick  of  his  own  division  in  it  to  Odessa.  They  thus 
reached  home  several  weeks  in  advance  of  their 
regular  turn.  When  his  friends  expressed  their 
admiration  at  his  generosity,  he  replied,  "  I  owe 
everything  in  the  world  to  these  men,  and  the  least 
I  can  do  is  spend  a  few  thousand  roubles  to  help 
them  in  their  sickness."  He  passed  his  whole  time 
in  the  midst  of  his  men,  tasting  their  food,  inspect- 
ing their  arms,  learning  their  every  want  with  his 
own  eyes,  and  supplying  it  with  orders  based  on  his 
own  knowledge.  He  was  always  with  them  in  their 
most  exposed  positions,  and  when  he  was  slightly 
wounded  he  refused  to  go  to  the  rear,  but  had  a  cot 
brought  up  and  placed  in  the  trenches,  and  remained 
on  it  there  until  he  was  able  to  mount  his  horse 
again.  At  the  instant  of  going  into  a  fight  he 
called  as  many  officers  as  possible  about  him,  to 
explain  the  exact  purpose  and  object  of  it,  and  the 
manner  in  which  this  object  was  to  be  gained  ;  and 
then  he  always  made  a  short  speech  to  his  men, 
telling  them  what  he  expected  them  to  do,  and  that 
he  felt  sure  they  would  do  it.  In  a  word,  he  made 
himself  and  his  division  one — he  representing  the 
brains  and  they  the  body,  and  the  heart  being  in 
common.  He  succeeded  so  thoroughly  in  accom- 
plishing this  union,  that  his  men  responded  to  his 
thoughts  as  readily  as  the  muscles  obey  the  will.  I 
have  listened  in  wonder  at  the  enthusiastic  admira- 


Russian  Generals.  137 

tion  with  which  they  spoke  of  him,  and  the  no  less 
enthusiastic  way  in  which  they  obeyed  him  ;  and  I 
doubt  if  a  more  thoroughly  ideal  relation  between 
a  general  and  his  men  has  existed  since  the  days  of 
Cromwell. 

In  return  for  his  care  of  his  men  he  demanded  of 
them,  first  of  all,  unhesitating,  unflinching,  unques- 
tioning obedience  to  his  orders.  If  he  ordered  a 
man  to  do  anything,  where  immediate  death  was  as 
certain  as  the  sun  in  heaven,  he  expected  to  be 
instantly  obeyed,  without  so  much  as  even  a  look 
of  question  or  surprise.  Himself  a  man  of  wide 
reading,  speaking  many  languages,  and  having  trav- 
eled in  many  lands,  he  gathered  about  him,  in  his 
personal  staff,  as  rough  and  uncultured  a  lot  of 
men  as  I  ever  savv  in  officers'  uniform ;  but  they 
answered  his  purpose  to  carry  orders,  and,  as  he 
said,  if  he  ordered  one  of  them  to  ride  his  horse 
against  the  muzzle  of  a  discharging  cannon,  he 
would  do  it  instantly.  One  morning  that  I  was 
with  him  on  a  reconnaissance,  we  came  to  a  small 
brook ;  an  officer  of  his  staff,  with  whom  he  had 
had  some  cause  of  dissatisfaction  just  before,  rode 
forward  to  try  its  depth  ;  while  he  was  cautiously 
feeling  the  bank,  another  officer — a  Cossack — rode 
toward  it,  and,  as  his  horse  drew  back,  plied  both 
spurs  and  the  whip  with  all  his  force  ;  the  horse 
sprang  forward  into  the  middle  of  the  little  stream, 


138  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

and  as  it  was  very  deep,  though  very  narrow,  both 
horse  and  rider  disappeared  under  the  water. 

"  There,"  cried  Skobeleff  to  the  other,  "  that's  the 
way  I  want  my  officers  to  do  things." 

The  first  officer,  greatly  nettled,  then  put  spurs 
to  his  horse,  and,  though  Skobeleff,  seeing  his  pur- 
pose, yelled  at  him  to  stop,  in  an  instant  he  and  his 
horse  disappeared  under  the  water.  Both  men  were 
then  dragged  out,  dripping  from  their  cold  bath. 
Every  one  laughed,  and  Skobeleff  was  in  the  best  of 
humor. 

"  Now  go  home  and  dry  your  clothes.  You're 
both  fine  fellows  (Vwee  Molodetzee).  But,"  turn- 
ing to  the  first  one,  "  after  this  never  liesitate  in  what 
you  have  to  do." 

On  another  occasion  Skobeleff  heard  one  of  his 
colonels,  just  as  he  was  going  into  action,  trying  to 
make  a  speech  to  his  men,  but  hesitating,  and  stam- 
mering, and  breaking  down  in  it.  He  relieved  him 
instantly.  "  If  at  such  a  moment,"  he  said,  "a  man 
can't  find  a  few  simple  words  to  tell  his  men  what 
he  expects  them  to  do,  then  he  don't  know  it  him- 
self. At  that  moment  a  man  can't  lie ;  his  heart 
will  speak  if  he  have  a  heart  for  fight,  and  if  he 
can't  find  words  it  is  either  because  he  is  a  coward, 
or  because  he  has  no  notion  in  his  head  of  what  he 
is  going  to  do." 

Again,  he  punished  his  men  without  mercy  for 


Russian  Generals.  139 

the  slightest  depredation  on  unarmed  inhabitants 
or  their  property.  "  Not  that  I  care  anything  for 
these  miserable  people — their  sufferings  are  nothing 
to  those  of  my  men — but  because  they  had  no 
orders  to  do  it.  If  it  served  my  purpose,  I  would 
give  them  a  village  to  plunder  and  burn  without  a 
moment's  thought.  But  they  must  do  it  only  on 
my  order.  I  want  them  to  feel  that  they  are  merely 
my  creatures — that  they  exist  simply  by  my  will." 

These  little  episodes  read  queerly ;  they  seem  to 
be  almost  the  doings  and  talk  of  a  madman  ;  but  it 
was  madness  with  a  direct  method — the  insanity 
which  is  merely  another  name  for  intense  concen- 
tration of  thought  and  energy  on  a  single  purpose. 

Of  his  officers  he  required  that  they  should  know 
their  own  business ;  not  that  they  should  be  cul- 
tured, should  present  a  fine  appearance,  should  be 
gentlemanly  in  their  speech.  He  demanded  none 
of  these  things,  but  only  that  they  should  combine 
unflinching  bravery  and  obedience  with  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  way  to  handle  the  number  of  men 
each  commanded,  so  as  to  obtain  the  greatest  re- 
sults with  them.  If  they  answered  these  require- 
ments there  was  nothing  he  would  not  do  for  them  : 
he  continually  praised  them  ;  he  secured  them  re- 
wards and  promotions ;  he  shared  with  them  what- 
ever he  had.  If  they  failed  in  these  qualities  he 
pursued  them  relentlessly,  abused  them   in  inimeas- 


140  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

ured  terms,  and  sought  the  first  opportunity  to  get 
them  out  of  his  division. 

His  personal  bravery  was  not  only  of  the  most 
reckless  character,  but  at  times  it  seemed  to  par- 
take of  the  merest  bravado,  in  which  only  extraor- 
dinary luck  prevented  him  from  reaping  in  death 
the  well-earned  reward  of  his  foolishness.  He  al- 
ways wore  a  white  coat,  a  white  hat,  and  rode  a 
white  horse  in  battle,  simply  because  other  generals 
usually  avoided  these  target-marks.  He  was  perpet- 
ually riding  at  breakneck  speed  over  some  fence  or 
ditch,  leaving  half  his  staff  and  orderlies  sprawling 
in  it.  He  never  lost  an  opportunity  of  displaying 
courage.  He  went  into  battle  in  his  cleanest  uniform 
and  fresh  underclothing,  covered  with  perfume,  and 
wearing  a  diamond-hilted  sword,  in  order,  as  he 
said,  that  he  might  die  with  his  best  clothes  on. 
For  a  long  time  he  wore,  with  evident  affectation,  a 
coat  in  which  he  had  been  wounded,  and  which  had 
a  conspicuous  patch  on  the  shoulder. 

Yet  all  this  was  not  mere  bravado  and  nonsense, 
but  was  the  result  of  thought  and  almost  cold- 
blooded calculation.  It  was  intended  to  impress 
his  men,  and  it  did  so.  They  firmly  believed  he 
could  not  be  hit,  and  whenever  they  saw  a  white 
horse,  coat,  and  cap  among  them,  they  knew  that 
was  SkobelefT,  and  so  long  as  he  was  there  they  felt 
sure  that  everything  was  going  well.     At  the  be- 


Russian  Generals.  141 

ginning  of  the  war  he  made  up  his  mind  firmly  that 
he  would  never  come  out  of  it  alive.  (After  reading 
me  the  telegram  announcing  the  armistice,  one  of 
the  first  things  he  said  was,  "  Well,  perhaps  I  won't 
get  killed  after  all.")  With  this  idea  firmly  fixed  in 
his  mind,  that  his  death  was  only  a  question  of 
a  few  weeks  or  months,  his  one  thought  was  how 
to  best  use  his  life  so  as  to  make  an  impression  on 
his  men,  and  gain  such  a  control  over  them  that 
they  would  follow  him  anywhere.  In  everything 
that  he  did  he  tried  to  eliminate  the  idea  of  danger 
from  their  minds,  and  to  make  the  most  dangerous 
exploit  appear  as  an  ordinary  every-day  affair.  His 
bandsmen  were  kept  up  to  their  full  strength,  and 
their  musical  instruments  as  carefully  inspected  as 
the  men's  arms ;  when  they  went  into  battle  it  was 
with  colors  flying  and  the  bands  in  their  parade  po- 
sitions, with  orders  to  play  till  they  had  not  a  gasp 
of  breath  in  their  bodies.  At  the  battle  of  Shenova 
he  moved  over  the  snowy  ground  in  this  order,  and 
got  over  thirty  per  cent,  of  his  musicians  killed  and 
wounded.  But  this  device  of  giving  to  a  bloody 
assault  the  air  of  a  customary  afternoon  parade, 
helped  not  a  little  to  encourage  the  men  to  do  their 
usual  part  in  it. 

All  these  little  affectations  were  mere  superfi- 
cialty,  calculated  and  employed  for  their  effect  on 
his  men  ;  but  behind  and  below  all  this,  forming  the 


142  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

solid  structure  on  which  these  airy  trifles  rested,  was 
his  stupendous  mihtary  genius.  I  use  the  words 
advisedly,  and  firmly  believe  that  should  he  live 
twenty  years  more  he  will  be  commander-in-chief 
in  the  next  war  about  the  Eastern  question,  and  his- 
tory will  then  speak  of  him  as  one  of  the  five  great 
soldiers  of  this  century,  side  by  side  with  Napo- 
leon, Wellington,  Grant,  and  Moltke. 

Napoleon  defined  the  requisite  qualities  for  a 
great  general  to  be,  first,  greatness  of  character,  or 
moral  courage,  which  produces  resolution ;  second, 
coolness,  or  physical  courage,  which  masters  dan- 
ger; third,  a  well-grounded  knowledge  of  the  guid- 
ing principles  of  his  profession  ;  and  fourth,  and 
above  all,  the  capacity  to  see  things  as  they  are,  and 
not  to  make  pictures  in  his  mind. 

Although  all  these  men  have  differed  widely  in 
their  personal  character  and  in  the  bent  of  their 
minds,  yet  they  have  all  possessed  these  qualities  in 
an  eminent  degree.  And  Skobeleff  possesses  them 
all,  no  less  eminently.  But  without  trying  to  pene- 
trate what  the  future  has  in  store  for  him,  he  al- 
ready belongs  to  history.  Though  he  has  lived  but 
thirty-five  years,  he  has  commanded  twenty  thous- 
and men  in  battle;  he  has  received  the  surrender  of 
an  entire  army  of  nearly  forty  thousand ;  he  has  led 
more  assaults  than  any  living  man  but  Grant,  and 
in  no  one  of  them  has  he  failed  to  carry  the  line  he 


Russian  Gcjierals.  143 

assaulted,  though  in  one  case  he  was  subsequently 
overwhelmed  with  numbers  and  driven  out.  His 
name  is  forever  linked  with  the  battles  of  Lovtcha, 
Plevna,  and  Shipka,  and  with  the  Russio-Turkish 
War  of  1877-78. 

The  two  other  generals  whom  this  war  brought 
to  the  front  were  Radetzky  and  Gourko,  both  of 
whom  have  made  good  records,  but  who  will  never 
rise  into  the  first  rank  of  great  commanders. 

Radetzky  was  born  in  1820,  and  was  therefore  fifty- 
seven  years  old  during  the  war.  He  had  seen  service 
in  the  Hungarian  campaign  of  1849,  ^^'^  '^^  various 
periods  in  the  Caucasus,  but  he  had  not  been  in  the 
Crimean  war.  He  commanded  the  Eighth  Army 
Corps  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  war  in 
Bulgaria.  It  was  this  corps  which  forced  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Danube,  and  which  held  on  to  the  Ship- 
ka Pass  with  such  heroic  tenacity  from  its  first  cap- 
ture, in  July,  till  the  final  capture  of  the  Turkish 
army  opposing  it,  in  the  following  January.  He  is 
not  a  man  of  brilliant  abilities,  but  is  greatly  endowed 
with  those  stubborn  qualities  of  determination  and 
perseverance  which  have  made  the  name  of  George 
H.Thomas  memorable  in  our  own  history;  and,  like 
him,  he  was  unwearying  in  his  devotion  to  his  men, 
and  his  kindly,  fatherly  solicitude  for  their  welfare. 

Gourko  is  eight  years  the  junior  of  Radetzky,  and 
was  not  quite  fifty  during  the  war;  he  has  been  all 


144  Arjny  Life  in  Russia. 

his  life  a  cavalry  officer  of  the  guards,  and  had  seen 
service  as  a  subaltern  in  the  Crimea  and  as  a  col- 
onel in  the  Polish  insurrection  of  1863.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  war  he  commanded  the  Second  Cav- 
alry Division  of  the  Guard,  but  before  this  was 
mobilized  he  came  to  the  field  as  a  volunteer,  and 
was  selected  by  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  to  com- 
mand the  advance-guard  which  pushed  forward 
over  the  Balkans  immediately  after  the  passage  of 
the  Danube.  The  success  which  he  attained  in  this 
expedition  is  known  to  all  the  world,  and  it  was  a 
success  due  entirely  to  his  own  energy  and  skill. 
On  the  conclusion  of  this  expedition  he  resumed 
command  of  his  own  division,  which  was  then  on 
the  way  to  the  field,  but  a  few  weeks  later  he 
was  selected  to  replace  an  incompetent  general  in 
command  of  all  the  cavalry  assembled  in  rear  of 
Plevna.  Not  long  afterward  the  guard  and  grena- 
diers arrived  as  re-enforcements,  and  Gourko  sub- 
mitted to  Todleben  his  plan  of  capturing  the 
redoubts  which  guarded  Osman's  line  of  commu- 
nications, and  converting  the  paper  blockade  of 
Plevna  into  a  real  one.  Gourko  received  command 
of  all  the  troops  destined  to  accomplish  this,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  had  a  large  body  of 
infantry  (forty-four  battalions)  under  his  command. 
He  attacked  these  redoubts,  carried  them,  and  com- 
pleted a  tight  investment — but  at  a  terrible  sacri- 


Russian  Generals.  145 

fice.  In  the  principal  redoubt,  Gorni-Dubnik,  the 
Turks  had  but  4,000  men  in  all ;  Gourko  brought 
nearly  16,000  against  it,  and  in  the  assault  lost 
116  officers  and  over  3,000  men!  The  blow  was 
a  heavy  one,  for  the  troops  were  all  picked  regi- 
ments of  the  guards,  and  their  officers  nearly  all 
belonged  to  the  nobility ;  it  brought  the  suffer- 
ings of  war  home  to  the  higher  classes  in  a  way 
they  had  previously  had  no  idea  of.  The  fault 
was  not  so  much  Gourko's,  but  rather  that  of  the 
men  themselves  and  their  subordinate  officers ;  yet 
it  was  a  generous  fault,  for  they  had  rushed  forward 
impetuously  in  advance  of  their  orders,  filled  with 
the  pride  of  their  birth  and  position.  But  the 
breech-loader  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  there 
was  a  wail  of  lamentation  throughout  St.  Peters- 
burg and  Moscow. 

The  sanguinary  result  of  this  affair,  and  the  male- 
dictions which  fell  on  Gourko's  head  from  the  wid- 
ows and  orphans,  seem  to  have  made  a  great  im- 
pression on  him.  After  that  he  was  as  untiring  as 
ever  in  his  own  restless  activity  ;  he  gave  his  men  no 
respite  of  long  marches,  and  bold,  quick  movements; 
but  he  never  again  led  them  to  a  vigorous  assault. 
He  commanded  a  semi-independent  army  of  80,000 
men  during  the  winter,  and  was  the  first  to  cross  the 
Balkans,  by  turning  the  enemy's  position  near 
Sophia;  after  this  he  followed  them  energetically, 
7 


146  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

and  in  the  three  days'  battle  of  PhilippopoHs  he 
completely  routed  and  dispersed  them.  The  whole 
of  his  campaign  was  a  series  of  admirably  executed 
turning  movements,  but  the  losses  in  battle  were 
less  than  from  freezing.  Had  he  thrown  his  whole 
force  impetuously  upon  Valentine  Baker's  position 
at  Taskossen,  and,  though  he  lost  5,000  men  or 
even  more  in  the  assault,  carried  this  position  by 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  instead  of  late  in  the 
afternoon,  he  would  have  come  squarely  across  the 
one  line  of  retreat  of  the  main  Turkish  army,  and  in 
all  probability  Avould  have  captured  the  army  in 
bulk  just  as  the  Shipka  army  was  captured.  But 
he  nursed  his  men,  losing  only  about  500  in  all,  and 
the  Turks  escaped.  Though  he  routed  and  dis- 
persed them  two  weeks  later,  yet  they  still  lived, 
and  not  as  prisoners  of  war ;  five  months  afterward 
they  stood  facing  him  with  arms  in  their  hands  in 
the  growing  fortifications  of  Constantinople,  and 
they  formed  the  veteran  nucleus  of  the  army 
which  at  that  time  rendered  Constantinople  safe 
against  a  coup  de  main. 

Gourko  is  the  least  popular  of  the  Russian  gen- 
erals :  his  manner  is  brusque,  he  is  very  harsh  with 
his  men,  and  never  pays  personal  attention  to  their 
wants.  The  men  worshiped  Skobeleff  as  a  legend- 
ary hero,  they  loved  Radetzky  as  a  kind-hearted 
father,  but  they  never  developed  any  personal  affec- 


Russian  Generals.  147 

tion  for  Gourko.  He  is  a  man  of  restless,  untiring 
energy,  a  high  order  of  abilities,  and  he  has  ren- 
dered services  of  the  greatest  value ;  but  he  never 
made  himself  one  with  his  men.  He  has  the  brains 
of  a  leader,  but  lacks  those  qualities  which  gain 
men's  affections. 

It  would,  of  course,  be  idle,  in  speaking  of  the 
Russian  generals,  to  pass  by  General  Todleben,  who 
is  the  first  military  engineer  of  his  age.  But  to  be 
the  first  engineer  is  not  to  be  the  first  general.  His 
great  and  lasting  fame  was  made  in  those  days 
when,  as  a  colonel  of  engineers  and  a  major-general 
at  thirty-seven,  he  was  the  guiding  genius  of  the 
defense  of  Sevastopol.  In  the  last  war  he  was 
called  to  the  army  only  to  direct  the  siege  of  Plevna. 
All  the  details  of  the  latter  part  of  the  siege  are 
due  to  him,  and  the  credit  of  the  final  success  is 
largely  his.  But  he  was  present  at  only  one  battle 
— that  in  which  the  Turks  finally  tried  to  break  out 
— and  he  was,  so  to  speak,  out  of  sympathy  with  all 
the  aggressive  features  of  the  war.  His  counsel 
was  always  on  the  side  of  prudence;  he  had  a  large 
"factor  of  safety"  in  all  his  plans,  and  he  advised 
against  that  bold  and  successful  winter  campaign 
which  alone  brought  the  war  above  the  dead  level 
of  mediocrity  and  placed  it  in  the  list  of  brilliant 
campaigns.  He  Mas  not  quite  sixty  years  old  at 
the  time  Plevna  fell.     He  has  grown  stout  with  ad- 


1 48  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

vancing  years,  but  he  is  still  full  of  activity,  both 
physical  and  mental.  In  personal  appearance  he 
bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  Bismarck,  and  is  a 
man  who  at  once  impresses  you  by  his  agreeable 
manners,  polished  address,  and  dignified  bearing. 
After  the  treaty  of  San  Stefano,  when  the  Grand 
Duke  Nicholas  gave  up  the  command  of  the  army, 
Todleben  came  to  Constantinople  to  succeed  him ; 
but  his  ability  as  commander-in-chief  was  never  put 
to  the  test,  for.  hostilities  were  not  resumed. 

I  have  previously  spoken  of  the  men  who  by  their 
abilities  alone  forced  themselves  to  the  front ;  but  in 
the  three  great  military  empires,  and  most  of  all  in 
Russia,  everj'  prince  of  the  reigning  family  is  care- 
fully educated  as  a  soldier ;  when  he  attains  ma- 
turity he  becomes,  ex-officio,  a  great  general,  just  as 
he  is  lord  lieutenant  or  governor-general  of  a  prov- 
ince, or  councilor  of  state.  On  the  outbreak  of  a 
war  the  great  commands  are  usually  given  to  princes. 
It  is  foreign  to  my  purpose  to  argue  the  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages  of  such  a  system  ;  under 
the  existing  conditions  of  such  governments  there 
are  far  more  advantages  in  it  than  we  Americans 
would  suppose ;  it  is,  in  fact,  almost  a  necessity  of 
the  system.  In  such  cases  the  commander-in-chief 
directs  his  army  as  the  Emperor  rules  his  country: 
i.e.,  by  his  own  will,  if  he  be  a  strong  man — by  the 
advice  of  his  counselors,  if  he  be  weak. 


Russian  Generals.  149 

Under  this  system  twelve  members  of  the  Impe- 
rial family  came  to  the  army,  occupying  positions 
from  commander-in-chief  to  aid-de-camp  with  the 
rank  of  captain.  One  of  them,  the  Grand  Duke 
Serge  of  Leuchtenberg,  nephew  of  the  Emperor, 
was  killed  in  a  reconnaissance. 

The  most  important  were  the  Emperor's  brother 
Nicholas,  who  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  troops 
in  Bulgaria,  and  his  three  eldest  sons — the  Cesare- 
vitch  Alexander,  who  commanded  the  left  wing  of 
the  army;  Vladimir,  who  commanded  a  corps  under 
him ;  and  Alexis,  who,  as  rear  admiral,  commanded 
all  the  naval  operations  on  the  Danube. 

The  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  was  forty-six  years  old 
at  the  beginning  of  the  war;  he  is  a  man  of  remark- 
ably frank  and  genial  nature,  and  the  exact  opposite 
of  his  brother  the  Emperor  in  the  apparent  ease 
with  which  he  carried  his  responsibilities.  He  has 
a  soldierly  bearing  and  a  soldier's  nature,  and,  had 
he  not  been  a  grand  duke,  would  probably  have 
made  a  dashing  leader  of  a  cavalry  division.  While 
no  one  ever  claimed  that  his  militar)'-  talents  alone 
would  have  made  him  a  commander-in-chief,  yet, 
under  the  system  which  I  have  referred  to,  it  is 
doubtful  if  any  general  could  have  been  selected 
who  would  have  been  more  acceptable  to  the  army, 
or  who  would  have  better  fulfilled  his  difficult  task. 
It    is   impossible    to   be   jealous   of   the  Emperor's 


150  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

brother.  Unfortunately,  he  selected  for  the  chief 
of  his  staff  and  his  assistant  two  men  of  very  me- 
diocre abilities.  The  first  was  never  more  than  a 
chief  clerk,  and  the  second  was  reduced  to  being 
one  after  having  committed  two  or  three  crass  blun- 
ders early  in  the  campaign.  Yet  these  two  men, 
whose  incompetency  nobody  disputed,  were,  for 
reasons  never  fully  understood,  retained  in  their 
places  to  the  end  of  the  campaign.  As  a  result,  the 
Grand  Duke  was  practically  without  any  staff  at  all. 
While  the  campaign  waited  for  the  fall  of  Plevna, 
Todleben  supplied  the  place  of  chief  of  staff;  after 
that  there  virttially  was  none. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  the  Grand  Duke  returned 
to  St.  Petersburg,  almost  the  most  unpopular  man 
in  Russia.  The  cause  of  his  unpopularity  lay  in  the 
growing  discontent  of  the  Russians,  who  feared  that 
the  results  of  the  war  were  being  lost  by  diplomacy. 
They  blamed  him  in  unmeasured  terms  for  not  hav- 
ing occupied  Constantinople — an  act  which  would 
certainly  have  embroiled  Russia  in  war  with  Eng- 
land and  Austria,  and  to  no  purpose — and  sought  to 
trace  the  responsibility  of  all  the  early  delays  of  the 
war  directly  to  him;  whereas,  in  fact,  they  were  due 
to  the  insufificiency  of  the  force  with  which  the  war 
was  begun  against  the  Grand  Duke's  remonstrances. 
No  people  are  more  given  to  criticism  for  its  own 
sake  than  the  Russians,  and  particularly  when  their 


Russian  Generals.  151 

wounded  vanity  is  in  question  ;  but  it  passes  over 
in  due  time.  The  day  will  soon  come  when  the 
Russians  will  realize  that  their  war  would  have  been 
a  dead  failure  but  for  the  winter  campaign,  and 
they  will  acknowledge  their  just  debt  of  gratitude  to 
the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  who  undertook  that  cam- 
paign against  the  advice  of  those  most  entitled  by 
their  position  and  experience  to  give  it. 

The  Cesarevitch,  at  the  age  of  thirty-four,  com- 
manded from  first  to  last  the  two  corps  to  whom 
was  intrusted  the  task  of  masking  the  Turkish  fort- 
resses on  the  left  flank  of  the  Russian  advance. 
Assisted  by  an  able  chief  of  staff,  about  fifteen  years 
older  than  himself — from  whom,  however,  there  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  received  any  more 
assistance  than  a  commanding  general  always  de- 
rives from  a  good  chief  of  staff — he  fulfilled  this 
most  important  duty  in  a  thoroughly  satisfactory 
manner  ;  and  although  the  many  battles  in  which 
his  troops  were  engaged  have  been  forced  into  the 
back-ground  by  the  bloodier  deeds  around  Plevna 
and  Shipka,  yet  his  military  achievements  are  v/ell 
known  in  Russia,  and  have  greatly  increased  the 
popularity,  as  well  as  the  respect,  with  which  he  is 
regarded  by  the  army  and  the  Russian  people  gen- 
erally. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

WAR   CORRESPONDENTS. 

The  position  of  a  newspaper  correspondent,  rep- 
resenting one  of  the  great  journals,  and  writing 
daily  history  for  an  audience  of  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  people,  by  whom  he  is  believed  much  more 
readily  than  those  even  who  are  making  the  history, 
is,  as  I  have  said,  one  of  great  responsibility.  The 
class  of  men  who  hold  these  positions  is  every  day 
growing  in  responsibility,  in  their  qualifications  for 
their  work,  in  the  value  which  is  set  upon  their  ser- 
vices, and  in  the  consideration  and  dignity  with 
which  they  are  treated.  Their  duties  require  abil- 
ity of  a  high  order,  a  keen  judgment  of  men  and 
events,  readiness  and  skill  in  literary  composition, 
energy,  courage,  and  indifference  to  hardship.  The 
more  consideration  is  shown  to  them,  the  more 
facilities  are  given  to  them  for  writing  of  events 
where  publicity  is  possible,  so  much  the  more  will 
men  of  a  high  order  enter  their  ranks,  and  so  much 
the  better  will  they  do  their  work,  to  the  benefit  of 
the  whole  world. 

I  believe  that  no  one  was  more  fitted  for  this 

152 


IVar  Correspondents.  153 

work,  or  has  yet  done  it  better,  than  J,  A.  MacGa- 
han.  He  was  born  in  Ohio,  where  his  parents  still 
reside,  about  thirty-eight  years  ago.  Of  his  early 
life  I  know  nothing.  He  first  turned  up  in  Europe, 
at  the  time  of  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1867,  as  a 
correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald.  Three 
years  later  he  followed  the  Franco-Prussian  war  in 
the  same  capacity.  In  1873  he  succeeded,  after  the 
greatest  difficulties,  in  getting  permission  at  St. 
Petersburg  to  accompany  the  expedition  to  Khiva. 
He  traveled,  in  company  with  Mr.  Eugene  Schuyler, 
as  far  as  Fort  Perovsky,  on  the  Syr  Daria,  where 
they  parted  ;  Schuyler  going  on  to  Tashkend,  and 
MacGahan  setting  out  to  make  his  way  across  the 
desert  and  overtake  Kaufmann's  column,  which  was 
supposed  to  be  on  the  Oxus.  With  two  or  three 
Kirghiz,  and  twice  as  many  horses,  he  started  to 
cross  the  sandy,  trackless  desert,  known  as  the 
Kyzil  Kum,  with  the  intention  of  reaching  the 
Oxus,  the  nearest  point  of  which  was  over  four 
hundred  miles  distant !  He  hoped,  on  reaching  this 
river,  to  fall  in  with  the  Russian  column,  but  the 
chances  were  equal  that  he  fell  in  with  the  Khivans 
or  some  band  of  Turkomcn. 

After  he  had  ridden  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
he  finally  came  upon  the  trail  of  Kaufmann's  column, 
at  a  small    post  called   Kala-ata,  which   Kaufmann 

had  left  behind  him.     Here  he  was  arrested  by  the 

7* 


154  Artny  Life  in  Russia. 

commandant,  and  held  in  confinement  until  instruc- 
tions should  be  received  as  to  what  should  be  done 
with  him.  But  he  knew  that,  long  before  these  in- 
structions could  arrive,  the  Russians  would  be  in 
Khiva,  and  he  determined  not  to  have  the  object  of 
his  long  journey  defeated  at  the  critical  moment  by 
the  assumed  authority  of  a  subordinate.  He  man- 
aged to  escape  from  the  little  post  during  the  night, 
and,  although  Cossacks  were  sent  out  in  pursuit  of 
him,  he  eluded  their  search  ;  and  at  last,  after  a 
journey  of  thirty  days  in  which  two  of  his  horses 
had  perished  of  thirst,  he  came  in  sight  of  the  Oxus 
— but  only  to  hear  the  noise  of  a  battle  between 
Kaufmann's  men  and  the  Turkomen  who  were 
hovering  about  them.  He  rode  on  as  cautiously  as 
possible,  and  had  the  good  luck  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  some  Kirghiz  allies  of  the  Russians,  in- 
stead of  the  hostile  Turkomen.  He  thus  reached 
Kaufmann's  head-quarters  in  safety,  and  was  re- 
ceived with  hospitality  and  admiration. 

The  story  of  this  wonderful  ride  has  been  told 
with  equal  modesty  and  skill  by  MacGahan  himself, 
in  his  interesting  book,  "  Campaigning  on  the 
Oxus,"  but  we  must  look  to  others  to  know  how  it 
was  appreciated  in  the  Russian  camp.  The  fame  of 
it  spread  throughout  Central  Asia,  and  it  became 
one  of  the  most  celebrated  exploits  of  the  whole 
campaign.     It  would    never   have  been   credited — 


War  Correspondents.  155 

so  impossible  did  it  seem  for  a  man  to  make  such 
a  journey  alone — but  for  the  two  incontrovertible 
facts  that  he  disappeared  suddenly  from  the  little 
post  on  the  Syr  Daria,  and  reappeared  as  if  from 
the  heavens  four  weeks  later  among  Kaufmann's 
men  on  the  Oxus. 

Schuyler  says  of  it,  "  His  ride  across  the  desert 
was  spoken  of  everywhere  in  Central  Asia  as  by  far 
the  most  wonderful  thing  that  had  ever  been  done 
there,  as  he  went  through  a  country  which  was  sup- 
posed to  be  hostile,  knowing  nothing  of  the  roads 
or  of  the  language.  Even  the  ofificer  whose  scouts 
had  failed  to  catch  MacGahan,  from  whom  long 
afterward,  on  coming  from  Khokand,  I  first  heard  of 
my  companion's  safe  arrival  at  Khiva,  was  delighted 
at  his  pluck,  and  used  the  significant  Russian  ex- 
pression, Hlolodetz — a  brave  young  fellow — the  great- 
est possible  praise  under  such  circumstances."* 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  Khivan  campaign, 
MacGahan  returned  to  Europe  and  wrote  the  "  Cam- 
paigning on  the  Oxus."  He  was  then  transferred 
to  Spain  during  the  Carlist  war,  and  had  an  amus- 
ing experience  in  being  arrested  and  imprisoned  on 
suspicion  as  a  spy,  which  came  very  near,  however, 
to  having  a  sudden  and  tragic  termination. 

After  he  left  Spain  he  joined  a  yachting  party 
which  went  to  Iceland  in  the  yacht  "  Pandora"  dur- 

*  Schuyler's  Turkestan,  vol.  i.,  p.  66. 


156  Arviy  Life  in  Russia. 

ing  the  summer  of  1875.  Of  this  he  has  given  us  a 
very  readable  account  in  his  "  Under  the  Northern 
Lights,"  one  of  the  most  charming  books  of  its  kind 
in  the  English  language. 

We  find  him  then,  at  the  end  of  ten  years'  travel 
from  one  end  to  the  other  of  Europe  and  beyond  its 
borders,  familiar  with  men  and  affairs,  a  ready  and 
accomplished  writer,  speaking  French  and  German 
fluently,  and  having  no  small  knowledge  of  the  Rus- 
sian language,  and  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Rus- 
sian character.  He  was  well  prepared  for  the  work 
in  which  he  now  engaged,  and  in  which  he  lost  his  life. 

In  the  meantime  afTairs  had  been  growing  more 
and  more  critical  in  Turkey,  and  it  was  evident  that 
another  acute  period  of  the  "Eastern  Question" 
was  approaching.  MacGahan  took  service  in  the 
London  Daily  Nezvs  and  went  to  Constantinople, 
where,  immediately  on  his  arrival,  he  heard  those 
stories  of  massacres  in  Bulgaria  which  were  then 
floating  about  Constantinople,  and  a  portion  of 
which  had  been  telegraphed  to  England,  though  with 
some  doubts  as  to  their  accuracy.  He  immediately 
determined  to  proceed  to  the  locality  and  investi- 
gate the  matter  on  the  spot.  He  persuaded  Mr. 
Schuyler,  then  consul-general  in  Turkey,  to  accom- 
pany him  ;  they  proceeded  to  Philippopolis,  and  from 
there,  either  in  common  or  separately,  they  visited 
every  portion  of  the  insurrectionary  district.     From 


War  Correspondents.  157 

here  MacGahan  wrote  those  celebrated  accounts, 
the  substantial  accuracy  of  which  has  never  been 
successfully  impeached,  of  the  "  Bulgarian  mas- 
sacres," which  astonished  and  horrified  the  civilized 
world,  and  which  were  far  more  potent  than  any 
other  cause  in  bringing  about  the  recent  war,  and 
the  liberation  of  the  greater  part  of  Bulgaria  from 
Turkish  rule. 

But  for  MacGahan,  or  some  other  correspondent 
who  would  have  done  what  he  did,  the  tale  of  these 
barbarities  would  have  been  hushed  up  by  the 
Turks,  a  truce  with  Servia  might  have  been  patched 
up,  and  the  Eastern  question  allowed  to  slumber 
again  for  another  twenty  years  without  any  progress 
being  made  toward  its  final  solution.  No  more 
marked  instance  could  be  cited  of  the  influence,  of 
which  I  have  spoken,  of  correspondents  upon  public 
opinion,  and  public  opinion  upon  the  course  of 
events.  The  manner  in  which  the  policy  of  the 
British  cabinet  was  deranged  by  the  storm  of  indig- 
nation against  the  Turks  which  these  outrages  raised 
in  England  is  a  matter  of  common  notoriety. 

MacGahan  remained  in  Constantinople,  and  at 
the  close  of  the  year  (1876)  the  conference  met  to 
deliberate  on  the  affairs  of  Turkey.  During  the 
whole  of  this  he  was  received  on  terms  of  unusual 
consideration  by  all  the  plenipotentiaries,  particu- 
larly General  Ignatieff  and  Lord  Salisbury.     When 


158  An/If  Life  in  Russia. 

this  conference  broke  up  in  failure  MacGahan  re- 
paired to  St.  Petersburg,  knowing  that  war  was  in- 
evitable, and  made  his  way  to  Kishineff,  where  the 
Russian  troops  were  assembled. 

On  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  moved  forward 
with  the  army,  and  remained  with  it  uninterruptedly 
until  his  death  in  Constantinople,  in  June,  1878. 
He  was  with  Gourko  in  his  first  passage  of  the  Bal- 
kans, at  Shipka  in  August,  at  the  great  battles  of 
Plevna  in  July  and  September,  at  Osman's  sortie  in 
August  and  at  the  surrender  in  December,  and  at 
the  first  battles  in  Gourko's  second  expedition  to- 
ward the  Balkans  in  November.  During  the  whole 
campaign  he  suffered  greatly  from  a  severe  injury 
to  his  leg,  caused  by  the  falling  of  his  horse  in  the 
Balkans  in  July  ;  and  after  the  fall  of  Plevna  he 
was  delayed  so  long  at  Bucharest  by  the  aggravat- 
ing nature  of  this  injury,  which  had  resulted  in  stif- 
fening the  knee-joint,  that  he  was  unable  to  over- 
take the  rapidly  advancing  columns  before  they 
reached  Adrianople.  He  arrived  at  Constantinople 
with  the  advance-guard  in  February. 

I  first  met  him  in  a  way  that  was  characteristic 
of  his  quiet,  unobtrusive  character.  In  company 
with  several  other  foreign  officers,  I  was  traveling 
on  the  31st  of  August  from  the  head-quarters  at 
Gorni  Studen  toward  Plevna,  where  the  great  battle 
was  expected.     About  midnight  we  had  stopped  at 


J  Far  Correspondents.  159 

the  bank  of  a  little  stream  and  lain  down  for  a  few 
hours'  sleep.  At  daylight,  just  as  we  were  waking 
up,  a  rough,  shaggy  pony,  carrying  a  man  wrapped 
in  a  large  ulster  and  wearing  the  correspondent's 
badge  on  his  arm,  came  ambling  along  the  road  and 
stopped  to  speak  to  us.  It  was  MacGahan,  who 
had  passed  the  previous  day  in  watching  the  battle 
in  which  Osman  attacked  the  Russians  at  Zgalevit- 
za,  on  the  east  of  Plevna,  had  written  his  dispatches 
during  the  early  part  of  the  night,  taken  a  few 
hours  of  sleep,  and  started  off  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning  to  carry  the  dispatches  forty-five  miles  to 
the  Danube,  where  he  had  a  courier  waiting  to 
carry  them  to  Bucharest,  the  first  point  where 
they  could  reach  a  wire  open  to  ordinary  business. 
He  gave  us  a  short  but  clear  account  of  the  fight, 
and,  mounting  his  pony,  ambled  off  again.  The 
next  morning  his  account  of  the  battle  was  read  by 
every  one  in  London  and  New  York. 

MacGahan  was  universally  esteemed  by  the  whole 
Russian  army,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  which  his  name  was  as  familiar  as  a  household 
word  by  reason  of  his  exploits  in  Central  Asia. 
The  secret  of  this  popularity  lay  in  the  simple  fact 
that  he  applied  the  plain  rules  of  ordinary  morals 
and  common  honesty  to  his  calling  as  a  correspon- 
dent. No  one  has  criticised  more  freely  than  he 
the  mistakes  of  the  campaigns  or  the  faults  of  indi- 


i6o  Army  Life  in  Kitssia. 

vidual  men,  but  he  never  did  so  with  malice,  he 
never  used  his  paper  to  ventilate  personal  revenge; 
his  criticisms  were  the  result  of  long  and  intense 
thousjjht,  and  were  an  honest  judgment  founded  on 
the  best  information  he  could  obtain.  Not  one  of 
them  ever  gave  offense,  and  I  have  heard  the  jus- 
tice of  some  ot  the  most  severe  of  them  freely  ac- 
knowledged by  the  Russians  themselves.  Con- 
sidering the  haste  with  which  that  large  portion 
of  the  two  volumes  of  the  "  War  Correspondence 
of  the  Daily  Nczvs "  which  came  from  his  pen  was 
necessarily  written,  there  is  remarkably  little  in  it 
which  even  at  this  day  needs  correction.  He  ap- 
plied this  same  rule  of  honest,  manly  dealing  in 
utterly  rejecting  that  theory  of  certain  journalists 
who  disgrace  their  profession  by  maintaining  in 
practice  the  principle  that  news,  being  the  com- 
modity of  their  business,  and  priority  in  publishing 
it  being  the  first  essential  of  their  success,  is  to  be 
obtained  in  any  manner  whatever,  not  even  omit- 
ting means  which  would  be  considered  utterly  dis- 
honorable in  any  other  business  or  profession. 
According  to  the  practice  of  these  men,  whatever 
they  overhear  by  chance,  whatever  they  learn  at  a 
dinner  or  at  other  times  when  men  are  off  their 
guard,  whatever  is  told  to  them  under  the  trust  of 
secrecy,  is  to  be  used  as  freely  as  their  notions  of  its 
value  may  seem  to  require.    Otherwise,  they  reason, 


IVar  Correspondents.  l6i 

some  one  else  will  in  some  way  get  an  inkling  of  it, 
and  then  they  have  lost  a  piece  of  property ;  for 
fresh  news  is  the  article  they  deal  in,  and  stale  news 
has  no  market  value. 

All  such  ideas  as  these  MacGahan  condemned, 
not  so  much  in  words  as  in  his  acts,  for  he  never 
once  employed  any  of  them.  In  the  intimacy 
which  he  enjoyed  with  more  than  one  Russian  offi- 
cer of  high  rank,  he  became  possessed  of  unusual 
information,  not  only  of  what  had  already  tran- 
spired, but  also  of  what  was  planned  for  the  future. 
Not  once  did  he  betray  a  confidence,  and  never  did 
he  commit  an  indiscretion  in  using  the  abundant 
material  which  came  into  his  hands. 

Facts  which  it  was  indiscreet  to  publish  at  the 
moment,  and  which  a  few  weeks  later,  in  the  rush 
of  events,  had  lost  their  value  as  news,  he  was  con- 
tent to  store  away  for  some  future  time,  when  they 
might  be  used  in  a  continuous  history  of  the  war 
which  he  proposed  writing. 

MacGahan  was  a  man  of  a  wonderfully  sweet 
and  gentle  nature,  almost  womanly  in  tenderness, 
though  he  never  lacked  for  a  man's  strength  in  all 
he  wrote  and  did.  Often,  in  the  midst  of  his  corre- 
spondence, he  turns  aside  at  the  end  of  some  long 
discussion  of  politics,  or  narrative  of  battle,  to  de- 
scribe some  touching  little  incident.  He  had  an 
equable  temper,    never  fretted,  never  worried  over 


\62  Arniy  Life  in  Russia. 

his  hardships,  never  nursed  his  anger  against  any 
man.  He  met  every  one  frankly — not  faiHng  in  the 
respect  due  to  high  rank  or  position,  but  not  over- 
awed by  the  mere  greatness  of  the  person  with 
whom  he  was  talking.  He  had  an  acute  penetra- 
tion, which  enabled  him  to  detect  quite  readily  the 
dust  which  some  persons  attempted  to  throw  in  his 
eyes,  under  the  guise  of  unusual  confidence. 

His  death  was  sudden,  although  mainly  due  to 
overwork  during  a  long  period.  He  came  in  from 
camp  to  Constantinople  to  nurse  me  when  I  was  ill 
of  the  typhoid  fever.  Two  days  later  he  fell  ill 
himself,  the  disease  taking  the  form  of  the  typhus 
with  spots ;  it  attacked  his  brain,  which  was  the 
most  vulnerable  part  of  him  by  reason  of  long-pro- 
tacted  mental  strain,  and  he  died  in  convulsions  at 
the  end  of  a  week.  On  the  nth  of  June,  1878,  he 
was  buried  in  the  little  Greek  cemetery  on  the  hill 
behind  Pera,  his  funeral  being  attended  by  the 
United  States  minister  and  other  members  of  the 
legation,  by  the  officers  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Dispatch, 
then  in  the  harbor,  and  by  a  large  number  of  Rus- 
sian officers,  prominent  among  whom  was  General 
Skobeleff.  Masses  were  said  for  the  repose  of  his 
soul  in  St.  Petersburg  and  at  other  points  in  Russia. 

No  man  of  his  age  has  in  recent  years  done  more 
to  bring  honor  on  the  name  of  American,  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  Europe,  and  far  into 


War  Corrcsp07idcnts.  i6 


o 


Asia ;  no  man  has  more  faithfully  served  the  Eng- 
lish-speaking races,  by  telling  them  the  truth  about 
great  events  in  an  attractive  form  in  their  daily 
papers.  His  letters  may  be  studied  as  models  by 
those  who  propose  to  adopt  his  profession,  and  his 
sterling  character,  his  pluck,  and  his  energy,  by 
every  man  who  aims  at  honest  success  in  any  walk 
of  life. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  the  Russian  military 
authorities  received  the  press  in  a  way  that  it  has 
probably  never  been  received  before.  Regulations 
were  drawn  up,  which  permitted  any  regularly  ac- 
credited correspondent  of  a  responsible  journal  to 
accompany  the  army,  provided  he  agreed  in  writing 
to  a  few  simple  rules.  The  principal  of  these  were 
that  he  should  always  carry  on  his  person  his  pho- 
tograph, on  the  back  of  which  was  written  his  au- 
thority to  accompany  the  army,  as  a  sort  of  passport 
by  which  he  might  at  any  time  be  identified  ;  that 
he  should  wear  a  band  around  his  arm  bearing  the 
word  "  Correspondent  "  in  Russian  letters,  and  his 
number,  and  that  he  should  give  his  word  of  honor 
not  to  report  the  numbers  of  troops,  the  intended 
movements  of  the  army,  or  any  other  information 
which  might  compromise  its  success.  As  it  only 
required  about  forty-eight  hours  for  news  from  the 
Russian  head-quarters  to  reach  the  Turkish  camps, 
via   London    and   Constantinople,  the  propriety  of 


164  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

such  a  pledge  could  not  be  questioned.  The  object 
of  the  badge  and  the  photograph  was  to  give  the 
correspondent  a  known  status  in  the  army,  which 
would  protect  him  from  accidents,  as  well  as  let 
every  one  know  with  whom  they  were  conversing. 
It  is  probable  that  some  more  efificient  means  might 
be  devised  for  this  purpose,  such  as  compelling 
them  to  wear  an  entire  uniform  of  a  distinctive 
character;  and  considering  the  good  or  harm  which 
may  result  from  their  letters,  and  the  impossibility 
of  supervising  them  before  they  are  sent,  it  would 
not  be  asking  too  much  to  require  them  to  sign 
their  names  to  whatever  they  write.  The  position 
and  responsibility  of  every  man  about  an  army 
should  be  sharply  defined. 

Something  over  eighty  correspondents  joined  the 
army  under  these  conditions,  about  one-third  of 
whom  were  Russians.  The  London  Times  sent  in 
succession  three  of^cers  of  the  army — Colonel  C.  B. 
Brackenbury,  R.A.  ;  Colonel  Sir  Henry  Havelock, 
M.P.,  and  Captain  Herbert — as  special  military  cor- 
respondents, in  addition  to  its  regular  correspond- 
ent, Mr.  E.  M.  Grant,  an  ex-officer  of  U.  S.  Vol- 
unteers, who  followed  the  whole  campaign,  and 
who  had  been  in  the  East  for  the  two  previous 
years,  and  had  accompanied  the  Servian  troops  in 
the  field,  and  to  several  others  who  acted  under 
his  orders. 


War  Correspondents.  165 

The  London  Daily  News  sent  Mr.  MacGahan, 
Mr.  Archibald  Forbes — who  had  previously  followed 
the  German  armies  in  1870,  and  subsequently  was 
with  the  English  troops  in  Afghanistan  and  Zulu- 
land — and  Mr.  F.  D.  Millet,  an  American  artist  re- 
siding in  Paris,  who  desired  to  see  the  war  for  the 
studies  it  might  afford  him  in  his  own  profession, 
but  who  was  also  specially  fitted  for  his  position  by 
his  literary  skill. 

The  Telegraph  and  Standard,  Illustrated  Nezvs 
and  Graphic,  various  other  papers  in  England  and 
Scotland,  several  papers  in  America,  in  France,  and 
in  Germany  were  also  represented,  some  of  the  lat- 
ter by  officers  of  the  army. 

All  the  great  papers  had  a  special  office  or 
"  bureau  "  in  Bucharest,  the  nearest  large  town, 
through  which  their  telegrams  were  received  from 
the  field,  and  their  other  business  transacted,  in- 
cluding supplying  their  correspondents  with  the 
necessary  money  for  their  expenses,  which  were 
sometimes  enormous.  Several  of  these  papers  had 
a  regularly  organized  line  of  couriers  to  carry  their 
telegrams  from  the  field  to  Bucharest. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  some  of  the  corre- 
spondents received  $10,000  a  year,  besides,  all  their 
personal  expenses ;  that  they  had  a  wagon,  tent,  and 
complete  camp  outfit,  three  or  four  saddle-horses 
and  equipments,  one  or  two  servants,  four  or  five 


i66  Arjfiy  Life  in  Russia. 

couriers — all  at  the  expense  of  the  paper — and  that 
they  often  sent  telegrams  of  two  and  three  thou- 
sand words  for  a  distance  of  as  many  miles,  some 
idea  may  be  gained  of  the  expense  which  a  "  lead- 
ing daily  "  can  afTord,  in  order  to  give  the  world  its 
news  before  breakfast. 

Of  all  the  correspondents,  none  achieved  so  large 
a  reputation  as  Mr.  Forbes.  Every  one  remembers 
those  graphic  accounts  which  he  sent  from  the  bat- 
tle-field itself,  so  clear  in  every  detail  that  whoever 
read  them  felt  as  if  he  had  the  original  scene  before 
his  eyes.  In  power  of  picturesque  description  of 
this  sort  with  the  pen,  it  is  doubtful  if  he  has  an 
equal  in  the  world.  No  small  measure  of  his  suc- 
cess is  also  due  to  the  fact  that  he  arrived  in  Eng- 
land while  the  war  was  still  at  its  height ;  as  people 
listened  to  his  lectures  or  read  his  articles  at  the 
same  time  that  fresh  news  was  coming  in  from  the 
same  fields,  they  felt  that  the  actual  reality  of  the 
war  was  brought  closer  before  them.  He  left  the 
army,  however,  on  the  morrow  of  the  great  repulse 
at  Plevna,  and  the  conclusions  which  he  formed 
about  the  Russians  and  about  the  course  of  the  cam- 
paign were  founded  on  somewhat  incomplete  data. 

Of  these  eighty  correspondents  about  half  were 
at  the  front  throughout  the  summer,  and  the 
greater  part  of  them  exposed  themselves  with  the 
utmost  fearlessness  in  battle,  and  endured  the  great- 


JVar  Correspondents.  167 

est  hardships  without  flinching.  One  of  them,  Mr. 
Millet,  received  a  decoration  for  extraordinary- 
bravery  in  aiding  the  wounded  under  a  very  hot 
fire.  For  the  other  half,  the  comforts  of  Bucharest 
possessed  the  greater  attraction.  They  came  to 
the  army  occasionally,  visited  the  camps  and  hospi- 
tals, studied  the  Russian  character,  and  went  back 
to  Bucharest  to  digest  their  studies.  But  when  the 
winter  came  on,  the  ardor  of  nearly  all  was  be- 
numbed, and  their  interest  began  to  flag.  Some 
went  back  to  Paris  and  London,  others  remained  in 
Bucharest.  But  only  four  of  them,  MacGahan, 
Grant,  Millet,  and  Villiers — the  latter  representing 
the  Illustrated  News — trudged  through  the  snow  in 
the  Balkans  and  arrived  at  Constantinople  with  the 
troops.  Of  these  four,  the  first  three  were  Ameri- 
cans. 


CHArTER    VIII. 

CONSTANTINO  TLE. 

I  FIRST  entered  Constantinople  under  such  amus- 
ing circumstances  that,  although  the  story  is  en- 
tirely personal,  I  venture  to  relate  it. 

After  the  armistice  was  signed  on  the  31st  of 
January,  I  remained  with  the  advanced  guard  under 
Gen.  Skobeleff,  whose  head-quarters  were  at  the  lit- 
tle village  of  Tchataldja,  about  thirty-five  miles 
from  Constantinople.  Ten  days  later,  I  had  passed 
through  the  Turkish  camps  in'company  with  a  mixed 
commission  of  Russian  and  Turkish  officers,  who 
fixed  the  lines  to  be  occupied  by  the  outposts,  and 
the  "  neutral  zone  "  between  them  ;  had  ridden  my 
horse  into  the  waters  of  the  Black  Sea  one  day  and 
of  the  Marmora  the  next,  and  had  caught  a  glimpse 
in  the  distance  of  the  glittering  domes  and  mina- 
rets of  the  ancient  city.  There  was  nothing  in 
particular  to  do,  and  I  began  to  weary  of  inaction 
and  to  long  ardently  to  see  the  city  itself.  After 
sounding  General  Skobeleff  on  the  subject,  and 
learning  that  he  had  no  personal  objection  to  my 

making  my  way  thither,  though  of  course  it  must  be 

168 


Const  ant  mop  le.  169 

done  entirely  at  my  own  risk  and  on  my  own  re- 
sponsibility, I  made  up  my  mind  to  quietly  ride  in 
through  the  Turkish  lines. 

Early  the  next  morning  I  packed  my  one  remain- 
ing suit  of  presentable  clothes  on  the  horse  of  my 
Russian  servant,  strapped  a  Cossack  cloak  (boohrka) 
on  my  own,  and  in  my  ordinary  uniform  started  out. 
I  knew  enough  Russian  by  this  time,  and  was  suffi- 
ciently well  known  to  Skobeleff's  men,  to  pass  the 
Russian  outposts,  and  I  felt  sure  that  the  Turks 
were  quite  tired  enough  of  war  to  be  slow  in  firing 
on  any  one  approaching  them  during  an  armistice. 
The  respective  outposts  then  stood  at  two  bridges, 
about  five  miles  apart,  on  the  ancient  road  along 
the  shore  of  the  Sea  of  Marmora.  The  Russian 
sentry  saluted  me  as  usual,  but  did  not  accost  mc. 
As  I  approached  the  Turks  half  an  hour  later,  my 
uneasiness  as  to  what  they  would  do  was  relieved 
by  seeing  them  turn  out  the  whole  guard  !  I  rode 
up  slowly,  the  twenty  men  of  the  guard  presented 
arms,  I  returned  their  salute  gravely,  and  passed  on. 
The  village  near  this  bridge  was  filled  with  soldiers 
lounging  in  the  streets,  a  brigade  or  more  of  troops 
being  quartered  there.  Most  of  them  stopped  to 
salute  me,  but  the  others  paid  no  attention  to  me 
beyond  a  short  stare  of  wonder.  Once  out  of  t]ie 
village,  I  made  a  circuit  through  the  fields  in  order  to 
avoid  a  large  camp,  and  then  regained  the  high-road. 


170  Ar))iy  Life  in  Ri(ssia. 

It  was  a  superb,  cloudless  day  of  such  weather  as 
wc  have  \\\  the  Middle  States  in  the  latter  part  of 
April  ;  fresh  from  the  snows  of  the  Balkans  and  the 
filthy  huts  in  which  I  had  passed  my  nights  for  the 
past  three  months,  the  change  was  almost  as  great 
and  as  sudden  as  is  experienced  in  descending  in  a 
few  hours  on  the  overland  train  from  the  snows  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada  to  the  flowers  of  the  Sacramento 
plain.  The  road  was  crowded  with  endless  lines  of 
creaking  arabas  filled  with  refugees,  or  bordered 
with  parties  of  them  stopping  to  rest  on  the  way- 
side ;  dead  animals,  dead  men,  and  broken  wagons, 
the  remnants  of  previous  caravans,  also  lined  the 
road,  but  the  suffering  which  these  sights  suggested 
had  no  effect  on  my  spirits,  thoroughly  intoxicated 
with  the  balmy  air  and  the  beautiful,  warm,  blue 
sky. 

Suddenly,  during  the  afternoon,  on  reaching  the 
summ.it  of  a  hill,  Constantinople  stood  before  me  in 
full  view,  not  five  miles  off.  In  front,  beyond  a  suc- 
cession of  rolling  hills  and  deep  valleys,  stretched 
the  long,  gray  line  of  the  ancient  walls — the  most 
superb  ruin  in  existence — parts  of  it  here  and  there 
hidden  from  view  by  masses  of  tall,  dark  cypresses  ; 
beyond  the  walls  lay  the  white  domes  and  tall,  slen- 
der minarets  of  the  mosques,  and  the  masses  of 
bright-colored  houses.  The  dwellings  arc  all  covered 
with  plaster,  painted  in   some  warm  tint,  usually  a 


Constantinople.  i  "j  i 

light  pale  pink  or  yellow,  though  shades  of  blue  are 
not  uncommon  ;  the  setting  sun  behind  my  back 
wrought  these  into  the  most  gorgeous  but  harmoni- 
ous patches  of  color.  Off  on  the  right,  this  side  of 
the  Asiatic  shores,  lay  the  placid  Sea  of  Marmora, 
which  rivaled  the  sky  in  the  intensity  of  its  rich 
aquamarine  blue  ;  out  of  it  in  the  distance  rose  the 
bold,  abrupt  shores  of  the  Princes'  Islands,  some  of 
them  covered  with  red  ochreous  clay,  and  others 
with  immense  dark  groves  of  olive-trees ;  still  be- 
yond them  lay  the  range  of  mountains  which  cul- 
minates in  the  broad,  snow-clad  peak  of  the  Asian 
Mt.  Olympus.  The  variety  of  features  of  the  land- 
scape, and  particularly  the  intense,  rich  warmth  of 
the  coloring,  combined  with  the  softness  of  the  air 
to  make  one  of  the  loveliest  pictures  I  have  ever 
beheld. 

Continuing  my  ride  in  keen  enjoyment  of  the 
scene,  I  passed  through  the  broad  belt  of  cemeteries 
which  extends  for  several  miles  along  the  walls  on 
the  western  side  of  the  city.  Nothing  gives  such  an 
impression  of  the  antiquity  of  the  cities  in  the  East, 
as  the  great  number  of  cemeteries,  in  which  every 
foot  of  ground  is  occupied,  and  whose  silent  occu- 
pants exceed  so  many  times  in  numbers  the  living 
population  of  the  adjoining  cities.  The  Turkish 
graveyard,  however,  has  none  of  that  cold,  gray 
solemnity   so    repulsive    in  our  own,  whose  monu- 


1^2  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

mcnts  are  of  cold  marble  or  granite.  The  grave- 
stones are  usually  small,  are  made  of  sandstone, 
and  brightly  decorated  with  colors  in  paint  or  with 
long  inscriptions  in  golden  characters  on  a  black 
background.  Those  marking  a  man's  grave  are  sur- 
mounted by  a  fac-siinile  of  his  head-dress  —  the 
ancient  ones  with  a  turban,  the  more  modern  with 
a  fc/,  cut  in  the  stone  ;  the  headstones  of  women 
are  plain  slabs  with  a  wreath  of  flowers  at  the 
top.  The  brilliancy  of  the  colors  contrasts  well 
with  the  tall,  dark  cypresses,  which  are  almost  in- 
variably planted  around  them. 

As  I  came  nearer  to  the  walls  the  beaut}'-  of  their 
ruins  impressed  itself  still  more  strongly  upon  me. 
It  was  originally,  when  built  by  Justinian  in  the 
sixth  century,  a  triple  wall,  the  highest  being  thirty 
feet,  each  line  crenelated  on  top  and  flanked  at 
intervals  by  high  towers  ;  in  front  was  a  broad,  deep 
moat  with  dams  at  intervals  to  hold  the  water 
when  flooded.  Now  there  are  long  gaps  where 
the  masonry  has  crumbled  and  fallen,  the  ditch 
is  used  in  places  for  a  vegetable  garden,  and  the 
wall  itself  is  overgrown  here  and  there  with  ivy. 
Twenty-three  times  have  these  same  walls  been  be- 
sieged, and  four  times  have  they  been  captured. 
Here,  where  the  ivy  trails  so  gracefully  along  the 
gray  masonry  lit  up  by  the  setting  sun,  in  the  final 
siege  and  capture,   the   Emperor  Constantine,   the 


Constantinople.  173 

last  of  his  name  and  his  dynasty,  fell  in  the  fierce 
struggle  which  put  an  end  to  the  Eastern  Empire 
of  Rome,  and  firmly  consolidated  the  Turkish 
power  in  Europe. 

But  my  mind  was  diverted  from  these  thoughts 
by  curiosity  as  to  how  the  Turkish  soldier,  pacing 
under  the  archway  of  the  gate,  would  receive  me. 

I  rode  across  the  bridge  quietly,  as  if  engaged  upon 
most  important  and  legitimate  business.  That  seem- 
ed to  be  his  idea  also,  for  he  stopped  and  presented 
arms  with  every  sign  of  respect.  I  returned  his 
salute  and  passed  through  the  gate  into  the  town. 

I  was,  of  course,  entirely  unfamiliar  with  the 
streets,  though,  from  a  careful  study  of  the  map,  I 
knew  they  were  very  crooked,  and  I  was  prepared 
to  find  them  narrow,  as  is  common  in  Eastern  cities. 
The  sun  was  still  half  an  hour  high,  and  I  hoped  to 
pilot  myself  by  its  shadows  so  as  to  keep  an 
easterly  course,  and,  traversing 'Stamboul  and  the 
Golden  Horn,  come  into  the  semi-European  suburb 
of  Pera,  where  I  trusted  to  luck  to  find  the  house 
of  Mr.  Schuyler,  who  was  then  our  Consul-General 
for  Turkey. 

I  soon  found,  however,  that  the  streets  were  so 
very  narrow  that  for  long  distances  I  got  no  glimpse 
of  the  sun  or  its  shadows ;  and  as  they  curved 
in  various  directions,  and  were  met  by  others  at 
every  variety  of  angle,  I   could   only  trust  wholly 


1/4  Arviy  Life  in  Russia. 

to  chance  to  keep  the  proper  course.  I  had  made 
up  \w\  mind  that  it  would  be  very  injudicious  to 
ask  any  questions  (my  servant  knew  a  few  words 
of  Turkish),  and  thus  excite  suspicions  as  to  my 
character  or  business.  I  was  still,  however,  in  a 
comparatively  unfrequented  part  of  the  town,  and 
the  few  people  on  the  streets  paid  no  attention  to 
me  beyond  a  slight  stare. 

Presently,  on  reaching  an  intersecting  street,  con- 
siderably less  narrow  than  the  others,  I  noticed 
that  there  was  a  horse-car  track  in  the  middle. 
The  thought  at  once  flashed  across  my  mind  that 
in  all  probability  this  railroad  would  lead  either  to 
Pera  or  to  the  Golden  Horn  ;  so  I  determined  to 
follow  it,  though  it  was  apparently  considerably  off 
my  course.  This  street  proved  to  be  the  great 
main  thoroughfare  of  the  city,  and  before  long  I 
was  in  its  most  crowded  part.  There  are  only  a 
few  streets  in  Constantinople  that  have  any  side- 
w^alks  at  all,  and  those  which  do  exist  are  only 
three  or  four  feet  wide,  and  utterly  inadequate  to 
the  crowd  of  foot-passengers.  The  result  is  that 
people  ordinarily  valk  in  the  street,  and  in  the 
principal  thoroughfares  the  number  of  pedestrians 
is  so  great  that  great  persons,  like  ambassadors  and 
ministers,  have  a  mounted  man,  who  precedes  their 
carriage  to  open  the  way ;  and  even  the  horse  cars 
find  that  a  loud  bell,  incessantly  ringing,  is  insufifi- 


Constantinople.  1 7  5 

cient  to  clear  the  track,  and  at  certain  hours  of  the 
day  every  car  is  preceded  by  an  athletic  runner 
with  a  stout  stick,  who  trots  a  short  distance  in 
front  of  the  horses,  blowing  a  loud  horn,  and  freely 
applying  his  stick  to  all  those  who  do  not  heed  its 
notes. 

Through  this  motley  throng  I  slowly  threaded 
my  way  without  molestation  of  any  kind  ;  people 
turned  their  heads  toward  me,  some  stopped  to 
stare,  others  muttered  "  Moscov"  or  "  Giaour,"  but 
no  one  accosted  me  in  any  manner  whatever.  It 
was  only  when  I  saw  this  large  crowd,  and  realized 
their  calm  forbearance,  that  I  reflected  what  a  risky 
business  I  was  engaged  in,  and  how  foolish  an 
ending  it  might  easily  have.  But  the  Turkish  char- 
acter, as  I  afterward  learned,  is  a  peculiar  mixture 
of  contemptuous  tolerance  and  fanatic  frenzy;  they 
are  patient  and  even  polite  for  an  indefinitely  long 
period,  until  suddenly  their  religious  fanaticism 
is  excited,  perhaps  by  some  incident  of  a  trifling 
character,  and  then  their  mad  excesses,  as  in 
the  murder  of  the  consuls  at  Salonica,  know  no 
bounds. 

They  merely  passed  me  by  now  in  careless  scorn, 
as  not  worth  thinking  about ;  but  had  some  urchin 
thrown  a  stone  at  mc,  or  some  hot-headed  fanatic 
yelled  "  Down  with  the  Giaour,"  as  an  Anglo-Saxon 
in  similar  circumstances  might  easily  say  "  Hit  the 


1/6  Arviy  Life  in  Russia. 

damned  foreigner,"  the  crowd  would  have  jumped 
upon  me  and  torn  nic  limb  from  limb. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  this  was  three  days 
after  the  British  fleet  had  passed  the  Dardanelles ; 
it  was  at  the  time  when  the  English  ambassador 
was  telegraphing  home  that  the  Russian  army  was 
advancing  on  Constantinople  "  in  spite  of  the  arm- 
istice;" when  the  city  was  full  of  the  wildest  rumors, 
and  when  no  Russian  had  yet  been  seen  in  the 
streets.  My  uniform  differed  in  general  appear- 
ance from  that  of  the  Russians  only  in  the  cap, 
which  it  would  have  required  an  expert  to  detect. 
My  horse  had  Russian  equipments,  and  the  well- 
known  Russian  cloak  was  on  my  saddle  ;  I  was, 
moreover,  covered  with  the  mud  of  a  long  day's 
ride,  and  evidently  came  from  the  army.  Every 
one  took  me  to  be  a  Russian  officer,  as  was  evident 
from  their  remarks  of  "  Moscov." 

Two  officers  had,  a  few  days  before,  come  down 
by  train  from  Adrianople  bearing  diplomatic  dis- 
patches ;  they  had  been  met  at  the  railway  station 
and  driven  at  once  in  close  carriages  to  the  palace 
where  they  were  lodged.  With  this  exception,  I 
was  the  first  man  to  enter  Constantinople  from  the 
Russian  army,  and,  as  I  said,  I  was  the  first  one  to 
appear  on  the  streets.  What  would  have  been  the 
fate  of  a  German  officer  entering  Paris  alone  during 
an  armistice  in  the  siege? 


Constantinople.  TJ/ 

I  watched  the  crowd  carefully,  but  rode  on  as  if  I 
was  in  the  habit  of  riding  there  daily.  There  were 
many  novel  sights  to  attract  my  attention  which  I 
longed  to  stop  and  examine :  the  curious  costumes, 
the  bright  little  shops,  now  and  then  a  gorgeous 
little  fountain  of  marble  and  gold,  or  a  magnificent 
mosque ;  but  all  these  could  only  be  noticed  with  a 
glance,  for  I  knew  it  would  be  imprudent  to  stop. 
The  journey  seemed  to  me  a  very  long  one,  it  being, 
in  fact,  over  five  miles  through  the  town  as  I  rode  ; 
the  sun  had  now  disappeared,  and  though  I  had 
passed  over  one  or  two  hills,  the  streets  were  so 
narrow  and  so  thickly  built  up  that  I  had  never 
been  able  to  get  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  town  and 
the  Bosphorus,  and  thus  orient  myself  by  the  map 
which  was  photographed  in  my  mind.  I  began  to 
fear  that  I  was  not  going  toward  Pera  at  all,  but 
that  nightfall  would  find  me  still  wandering  around 
in  a  circle  through  the  crooked  streets.  Finally  I 
reached  the  mosque  of  St.  Sophia,  though  I  did  not 
then  know  it  from  the  other  mosques  ;  here  the 
street  suddenly  turns  almost  completely  on  itself, 
following  along  the  walls  of  the  old  Seraglio.  This 
was  very  discouraging,  and  the  streets  being  here 
less  crowded,  I  ventured  to  ride  up  to  a  drug-shop 
bearing  the  sign,  "  Hier  ist  Dcutsch  gcsprodicn^'  and 
inquire  the  way  to  Pera.     But  I  waa  answered  by  a 

Greek — the  partner,  I  suppose,  of  the  one  who  spoke 

8* 


i;8  Ar;//}>  Life  in  Russia. 

German;  I  cjot  no  intelligence  from  him,  and  a 
crowd  quickly  collected,  so  I  determined  to  push 
on  at  once.  My  suspense  was  soon  relieved  by 
coming  abruptly  on  the  Pera  Bridge  over  the 
Golden  Horn.  I  rode  on  to  it  with  such  an  air  of 
assurance  that  the  man  collecting  toll  stepped  back 
and  bowed  to  me,  instead  of  stopping  me  for  money, 
as  he  invariably  did  afterward. 

This  bridge  is  one  of  the  world-famous  sights, 
and  is  familiar  to  every  one  who  has  read  anything 
of  modern  Constantinople.  It  is  a  rickety  old 
wooden  structure,  nearly  half  a  mile  long,  resting  on 
boats ;  its  two  sides  are  lined  continuously  with  beg- 
gars, and  between  them,  from  sunrise  to  dark,  surges 
an  incessant  throng  whose  numbers  are  counted  by 
hundreds  of  thousands  at  the  close  of  the  day.  In 
its  blending  of  Europeans  and  Asiatics  it  is  the  type 
of  Constantinople  itself.  Here  may  be  seen,  at  any 
hour  of  the  day,  the  Turkish  Minister  in  his  coach  or 
on  his  horse,  the  western  merchant  in  the  dress  of 
London  or  Paris,  the  Turkish  priest  in  long  robe 
and  green  turban,  the  hermaphrodite  Greek  mer- 
chant in  Parisian  coat  and  Turkish  fez,  the  Jewish 
money-lender  and  the  gayly  dressed  Circassian,  the 
merchants  from  Arabia  and  far  in  Central  Asia,  and 
the  Turkish  women  with  the  yashmak  drawn  tightly 
over  their  faces„their  curious  bundle  of  skirts  lifted 
high  above  their  ankles,  disclosing  ugly  feet  cased 


Constantinople.  1 79 

in  cheap  French  shoes,  a  parasol  over  their  heads, 
and  a  small  satchel  in  their  hands. 

Every  variety  of  the  Semitic  and  Indo-European 
races  here  jostles  each  other  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  producing  a  moving  and  highly-colored  pano- 
rama of  kaleidoscopic  variety. 

The  diversity  of  shipping  alongside  the  bridge  is 
no  less  extraordinary.  Here  are  the  high-pooped 
little  Greek  junks,  of  the  same  form  as  that  in  which 
Paul  set  sail  from  Troas,  side  by  side  with  the 
Mediterranean  steamers  of  the  Austrian  and  French 
lines,  the  Turkish  ironclad  of  latest  English  pattern, 
and  the  screeching  little  pack-boats  of  the  Bospho- 
rus,  built  on  the  model  of  those  that  ply  from 
Dover  to  Calais.  In  and  out  through  them  all,  dart 
hundreds  of  the  graceful  little  ca'iqties,  with  their  no 
less  graceful  oarsmen  in  turban,  white  shirt,  and 
baggy  white  trowsers.  It  is  a  scene  of  endless, 
bustling  activity,  full  of  life  and  color. 

Threading  my  way  slowly  through  the  crowd,  I 
finally  reached  the  streets  of  Pera.  Immediately  I 
was  surrounded  by  an  eager,  curious  crowd,  com- 
posed principally  of  Armenian  boatmen  and 
Iiamals/^  I  at  once  asked  if  any  one  spoke  English 
or  French.  A  burly  Armenian  pushed  his  way 
through  the  crowd  and  said,  "  Me  Inglis."  I  told 
him  I  was  an  American,  and  wanted   to    find    the 


Baggage  porters. 


l8o  AriNv  Life  in  Russia. 

American  Consulate.  He  answered  promptly,  "  I 
know,"  and  forthwith  began  hustling  the  crowd, 
opening  a  passage,  and  beckoning  me  to  follow  him. 
He  led  me  along  a  street  close  to  the  Bosphorus,  in 
the  lower  part  of  Galata,  which  I  afterward  dis- 
covered was  largely  occupied  by  sailors'  boarding- 
houses.  At  the  end  of  half  a  mile  he  stopped  be- 
fore a  large  house,  and  pointing  to  it  with  an  air  of 
satisfaction,  kept  repeating,  "American,  American." 
The  surroundings  of  the  place  seemed  to  me  rather 
strange  for  a  consulate,  but  I  dismounted,  and,  leav- 
ing my  servant  with  the  two  horses,  went  up  the 
steps,  entered  an  open  door,  and,  finding  no  one, 
ascended  a  pair  of  stairs,  and  saw  a  large  hall  with 
several  seats  in  it,  and  a  sort  of  primitive  stage*  at 
one  end. 

There  was  no  one  in  the  hall,  but  presently  a  man, 
dressed  in  European  clothes,  but  having  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  Greek,  came  out  of  a  neighboring  door. 
He  answered  me  in  bad  French,  and  I  told  him 
I  had  been  brought  here  in  search  of  the  American 
Consulate.  He  replied  that  it  was  not  in  that  build- 
ing, and  he  did  not  know  where  it  was  ;  that  this 
was  the  Cdfc  chantant  Amcfricain,  or  American  con- 
cert and  dance-house,  of  which  he  was  proprietor! 

Retracing  my  steps  down  the  stairs,  I  found  my 
servant  holding  the  horses  with  a  terrified  air, 
surrounded   by  a  crowd  intent  on  examining  and 


Constmitinople.  1 8 1 

feeling  the  horses  and  their  equipments,  and  plying 
him  with  an  infinite  number  of  questions  in  various 
languages.  The  guide  was  holding  forth  in  Arme- 
nian, with  a  self-satisfied  manner,  explaining  at 
great  length  who  I  was,  and  all  about  me.  The 
crowd  extended  for  two  hundred  feet  or  more  in 
each  direction,  completely  blocking  the  street  ;  two 
horse-cars  were  ringing  their  bells,  and  their  runners 
were  blowing  their  horns  and  fighting  with  the 
crowd,  but  it  refused  to  yield. 

I  sharply  accosted  my  guide,  telling  him,  in  phrases 
which  must  have  increased  his  knowledge  of  the 
English  language,  that  he  was  a  fool,  that  he  had 
brought  me  to  a  concert  house,  and  that  I  wanted 
him  to  show  me  at  once  the  way  to  the  American 
Consul's.  He  asked  me  to  repeat  the  word,  and 
then  his  face  fell ;  his  temporary  importance  van- 
ished, for  he  had  never  heard  of  the  place.  But 
from  the  crowd  of  eager  listeners,  another  Armenian 
came  forward  with  smiling  face  and  an  air  of  confi- 
dence, not  unlike  that  of  a  Chinaman  in  San  Fran- 
cisco under  similar  circumstances,  and  said,  "I  know 
him."  I  repeated  the  word  "  consul  "  several  times 
and  asked  him  if  he  was  sure,  but  he  only  answered, 
"  I  know  him,"  and  immediately  set  to  work  to  open  a 
way  through  the  crowd.  I  got  on  my  horse  and  fol- 
lowed after  him,  as  he  led  the  way  through  a  filthy 
little  street  not  over  twelve  feet  wide,  and  so  steep 


lS2  ulrifij'  Life  in  Russia. 

thai  llicrc  was  a  high  step  in  llie  pavement  at  every 
few  \ards.  It  was  ah'eady  quite  dark,  my  horse 
slipped  aiul  tumbled  o\cr  the  wretched  pavement, 
the  various  families  of  dogs  who  occupied  this  street 
in  fee  simple  set  up  a  tremendous  howling,  and  be- 
hind me  followed  a  motley  crowd  of  not  less  than 
five  hundred  people.  I  had  no  confidence  that  this 
fellow  who  was  leading  me  knew  anything  more 
about  the  consulate  than  the  other  one,  and  I  began 
to  have  serious  misgivings  as  to  the  termination  of 
my  adventure.  My  anxiety  was  unfounded,  how- 
ever. When  we  had  nearly  climbed  the  steep  hill, 
the  guide  turned  down  a  narrow  lane,  and  presently 
stopped  before  a  house  over  the  door  of  which  I 
could  just  discern  in  the  twilight  a  blue  board  bear- 
ing the  spread  eagle  in  gilt,  and  the  welcome  words, 
"  Consulate  of  the  United  States  of  America." 
Looking  back,  I  saw  that  the  crowd  extended  up 
the  w'hole  length  of  the  lane.  I  gave  the  guide  a 
small  gold  piece,  about  equal  in  value  to  what  he 
would  earn  in  a  month,  and  he  went  off  with  radiant 
face,  gesticulating  to  the  crowd,  who  followed  him 
with  a  Babel  of  questions. 

Half  an  hour  afterward  I  had  washed,  and  donned 
my  fresh  suit  of  uniform,  which  only  brought  out  in 
stronger  contrast  my  unkempt  hair  and  beard,  and 
was  dining  at  Mr.  Schuyler's  table.  It  was  but  a  few 
weeks  since  I  had  been  shivering  in  the  snows  of  the 


Constant  inoplc.  183 

Balkans,  and  that  same  morning  I  had  left  a  squalid 
hut  like  those  in  which  I  had  been  sleeping  during 
the  whole  winter.  The  contrast  between  the 
thoughts  which  run  through  a  man's  mind  in  the 
midst  of  war  and  such  surroundings  as  those  I  have 
mentioned,  on  the  one  hand,  and  a  refined  home  and 
a  gentleman's  dinner-table  on  the  other,  was  sudden 
and  bewildering. 

Constantinople  was  at  this  time  the  center  of  ob- 
servation of  the  entire  world.  The  Russian  army, 
which  but  a  few  weeks  before  had  been  in  the 
trenches  before  Plevna,  had  suddenly  appeared 
almost  at  the  gates  of  the  city ;  the  English  fleet  lay 
in  the  Bay  of  Ismidt,  three  hours'  steam  from  the 
Golden  Horn ;  the  Russians  and  Turks  had  made  an 
armistice  in  order  to  arrange  a  treaty  on  terms  the 
basis  of  which  had  already  been  accepted  by  the 
Turks.  The  latter,  for  the  moment,  lay  completely 
at  the  mercy  of  their  enemy.  Would  he  enter  Con- 
stantinople? Would  England  declare  war?  Would 
the  Sultan  be  deposed  ?  Was  the  Eastern  question  to 
be  at  last  finally  settled?  Was  the  war  to  spread  and 
involve  all  Europe?  Nobody  knew  what  a  day  would 
bring  forth.  Diplomats  and  newspaper  correspond- 
ents were  in  the  keenest  state  of  excitement ;  but 
not  the  least  trace  of  it  could  be  discerned  on  the 
surface  of  what  one  could  sec  in  the  streets.  The 
latter  were  thronged  as  usual  during  the  day ;  they 


1S4  Aruiy  Life  in  Russia. 

were  silent  and  deserted  during  the  night  as  the 
watchman  made  his  rounds,  striking  the  pavement 
witli  his  iron-shod  stick.  One  looked  at  any  moment 
to  see  some  one  appear  on  the  streets  with  news  or 
rumors  of  news,  to  see  crowds  gather  and  discuss  it, 
and  give  vent  to  their  fanatical  hatred  of  the  first 
hostile  army  which  had  penetrated  to  Constanti- 
nople during  the  four  centuries  that  the  Turks  had 
held  possession  of  it.  But  nothing  of  this  kind 
transpired.  On  the  streets,  in  the  great  bazar,  in 
the  baths  and  cafes,  people  led  their  accustomed 
life,  and  from  what  one  saw  it  would  never  have 
been  imagined  that  a  war  was  even  in  contempla- 
tion, much  less  that  a  great  war  was  just  terminating 
disastrously  for  them,  and  that  the  fate  of  their  em- 
pire and  the  future  of  Europe  were  for  the  moment 
trembling  in  the  balance. 

I  had  made  arrangements  immediately  on  my  ar- 
rival by  which,  in  case  the  armistice  was  broken,  I 
could  be  transported  in  a  small  steamer  to  some 
point  on  the  coast  within  the  Russian  lines,  and  then 
I  gave  myself  up  quietly  to  sight-seeing.  A  week 
later  we  had  news  that  the  Grand  Duke  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  Russian  troops  had  occupied  the  little 
village  of  San  Stefano,  on  the  Sea  of  Marmora, 
about  eight  miles  outside  the  walls.  I  immedi- 
ately proceeded  thither,  and  found  that,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  arrival  of  the  English  fleet,  the  Rus- 


Constantinople.  185 

sians  had  made  an  agreement  with  the  Turks  by 
which  they  were  to  occupy  a  Hne  very  much  nearer 
the  city  than  that  laid  down  in  the  original  armis- 
tice. The  Grand  Duke  and  his  staff  had  come 
down  by  train  from  Adrianople,  and  installed  them- 
selves in  the  village,  and  with  them  had  come  Gen- 
eral Ignatieff,  who  had  lately  arrived  from  Russia 
as  first  plenipotentiary  to  negotiate  the  treaty  of 
peace. 

The  village  of  San  Stefano  is  beautifully  situated 
on  the  shore  of  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  and  consists 
principally  of  about  twenty  or  thirty  large  houses 
owned  by  wealthy  Greek  merchants,  who  live  in 
them  during  the  summer.  These  houses  were  im- 
mediately occupied  by  the  various  members  of  the 
numerous  head-quarter  staff.  I  was  fortunate  in  re- 
ceiving a  room  in  one  of  the  largest  houses  facing 
the  quay,  which  runs  along  the  front  of  the  village. 
Here  we  used  to  pass  the  afternoon  enjoying  the 
mild  air,  listening  to  the  music  of  the  various  bands 
intermingled  with  the  sound  of  the  swell  breaking 
against  the  wall,  basking  in  the  bright  sunlight,  and 
forgetting  with  marvelous  rapidity  the  snow,  the 
cold,  the  mud,  the  squalid  huts,  the  sufferings,  sick- 
ness, and  death,  which  were  our  surroundings  such  a 
short  time  since. 

Small  numbers  of  officers  were  now  allowed  to  go 
by  train  to  Constantinople ;  no  evil  results  followed, 


1 86  Army  Life  in  Rnssi(7. 

aiul  the  number  was  increased,  and  fnially  the  privi- 
lege was  extended  to  enlisted  men.  At  last  four 
or  five  hundred  would  go  in  every  day,  and  the 
Russian  uniform  was  as  common  a  sight  on  the 
streets,  and  particularly  in  the  bazar,  as  that  of  the 
Turks  themselves.  Both  officers  and  men  behaved 
themselves  in  such  an  exemplary  manner  as  to  call 
forth  the  highest  commendation,  even  from  their 
greatest  detractors  among  the  English.  There  were 
no  street  brawls,  no  instances  of  rowdyism  of  any 
kind  whatever.  One  day  two  officers  were  reported 
to  have  been  seen  intoxicated  on  the  streets, 
though  not  giving  offense  to  any  one.  The  Grand 
Duke  immediately  rescinded  the  permission  to  visit 
the  city.  But  when  it  was  learned  that  these  men 
had  done  no  harm,  further  than  to  expose  them- 
selves and  their  uniform  to  the  criticism  of  inde- 
corum, the  permission  was  gradually  extended 
again  under  certain  stringent  rules.  I  believe  that 
no  second  case  of  drunkenness  was  ever  heard  of. 

The  officers  spent  their  money  lavishly  in  every 
direction  ;  the  hotels  and  restaurants  were  so  crowd- 
ed that  there  was  great  difficulty  in  getting  a  meal ; 
the  cafds  ckantants  (the  meretricious  substitute 
which  Pera  offers  for  theaters)  were  crowded  night- 
ly, and  the  Jews  and  Armenians  of  the  bazar  found 
such  customers  as  they  had  only  known  in  their 
dreams — people  who  actually  paid  without  an  hour's 


Constantinople.  187 

bargaining  the  first  price  they  demanded  for  their 
goods,  which  usually  exceeded  by  four  to  six  times 
the  market  value  which  they  expected  to  receive. 
The  Russian  five-rouble  piece  became  far  more 
common  than  the  piece  of  twenty  francs  or  the 
Turkish  lira ;  and  merchants  who  had  means  of  form- 
ing a  fair  estimate  told  me  three  months  later  that 
not  less  than  six  millions  of  roubles  in  gold  (about 
$4,600,000)  had  been  paid  into  the  various  shops. 

On  the  3d  of  March  (Feb.  19th,  O.  S.),  the  an- 
niversary of  the  Russian  Emperor's  accession  to 
the  throne,  the  long  haggling  over  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  came  to  an  abrupt  termination.  The  treaty 
had  been  all  agreed  to  the  previous  night,  and  was 
to  have  been  signed  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
the  troops  were  drawn  up  for  parade  at  that  hour, 
and  the  horses  of  the  Grand  Duke  and  staff  stood 
saddled  in  front  of  his  house.  But  at  the  last  min- 
ute the  Turkish  plenipotentiaries  raised  fresh  ob- 
jections and  refused  to  sign  ;  couriers  rushed  back 
and  fonvard  between  the  Grand  Duke's  house  and 
that  in  which  Ignatieff  and  Savfct  Pasha  were  de- 
liberating. The  afternoon  wore  on,  and  it  began  to 
look  as  if  the  anniversary  day  would  pass  without 
the  treaty  being  signed.  At  half-past  four  o'clock, 
the  Grand  Duke  and  his  staff  mounted  and  rode  to 
the  edge  of  the  village,  the  former  sending  word  to 
the  plenipotentiaries  that  he  would  wait  there  till 


i8S  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

the  paper  was  siL^ncd.  Not  long  afterward,  one  of 
his  aids  came  running  forward,  bearing  in  his  hand 
the  pen  still  wet  with  the  ink  with  which  the  docu- 
ment had  been  signed,  and  which  he  begged  to 
keep  as  a  souvenir.  Following  him  came  General 
Ignatieff,  who  saluted  the  Grand  Duke,  saying, 
"  Your  Imperial  Highness,  I  have  the  honor  to  an- 
nounce that  the  treaty  of  peace  is  concluded."  The 
Grand  Duke  pulled  off  his  cap  and  shouted  "  Hur- 
rah," which  was  taken  up  by  his  staff  as  he  went 
galloping  off  toward  the  troops. 

The  latter  were  drawn  up  on  an  eminence  just 
outside  of  the  village,  and  facing  Constantinople, 
which  was  in  full  view  a  few  miles  ofT. 

The  usual  form  of  review  was  held,  and  then  the 
Grand  Duke  rode  out  in  front,  and  calling  the 
whole  body  of  six  hundred  or  eight  hundred  officers 
about  him,  he  announced  to  them  the  signature  of 
the  treaty  of  peace,  and  the  end  of  the  war.  A 
grand  shout  of  joy  broke  forth,  which  quickly 
passed  to  the  men,  who  understood  what  it  meant, 
and  sent  up  deafening  cheers ;  looking  back,  the 
whole  air  seemed  black  with  the  caps  which  the 
men  were  throwing  up,  and  I  doubt  if  any  man  got 
his  own  cap  again  in  the  course  of  a  week. 

A  moment  afterward,  the  Grand  Duke  wanted  to 
say  a  few  words  more  to  the  officers,  and  they  be- 
gan signaling  to  the  men  with  their  swords  to  keep 


Co7istantinoplc.  1 89 

silence,  but  the  latter  paid  no  attention  ;  a  lot  of 
aids  were  then  sent  to  stop  them,  but  it  was  found 
impossible.  Like  a  fire  checked  in  one  place,  the 
cheering  broke  out  in  another  in  a  dense  roar, 
drowning  every  other  sound,  so  that  few  people 
heard  what  the  Grand  Duke  had  to  say.  It  was 
only  a  few  simple  but  well-chosen  words,  thanking 
the  officers  and  men  for  their  bravery  and  endur- 
ance, and  telling  them  they  had  their  reward  in  the 
great  results  which  they  had  achieved. 

Then,  after  waiting  a  few  minutes  for  the  men  to 
stop  cheering  from  sheer  exhaustion  of  their  lungs 
the  Grand  Duke  stepped  forward  to  the  place  where 
the  priests  had  arranged  a  sort  of  altar  on  the 
ground,  and  stood  ready  in  their  green  and  gold 
robes  to  hold  service.  All  uncovered  their  heads, 
and  the  ordinary  form  of  mass  was  chanted  in  mon- 
otonous tones.  My  next  neighbor  in  the  crowd,  an 
admiral  in  the  navy,  nudged  my  arm,  and  said  in 
English,  "Solemn  moment."  I  replied,  "Very 
solemn  !  "  But  in  reality  it  was  a  solemn  moment : 
the  climax  of  the  most  momentous  events  which 
have  taken  place  in  the  East  since  the  Turks 
crossed  the  Hellespont,  nearly  five  centuries  ago — 
events  involving  the  welfare  and  habitation  of  two 
whole  races  of  people — liberating  one  race,  over- 
throwing the  power  of  the  other,  and  preparing  the 
way  for  their  speedy  exit  from  Europe. 


IQO  ^Ir/uj'  Life  in  Russia. 

The  greatest  religious  ceremony  of  these  later 
days  will  be  the  mass  to  be  held  in  St.  Sophia, 
when  fniall}'  it  is  restored  to  the  hands  of  Christians; 
but  this  not  being  possible  now,  twenty-five  thou- 
sand Russians  knelt  at  prayer  with  arms  in  their 
hands,  on  a  spot  where  no  Christian  army  had  ever 
trod  since  the  Turks  conquered  Constantinople,  and 
looking  in  the  dusk  of  twilight  at  that  dome  of  St. 
Sophia  wliich  has  occupied  so  prominent  a  place  in 
the  imagination  of  all  their  countrymen  since  the 
days  of  Catherine !  Well  might  the  Grand  Duke 
say  to  them,  "  You  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  hav- 
ing been  the  instruments  to  accomplish  such  grand 
results." 

To  my  own  mind,  looking  on  as  a  foreigner 
sympathizing  in  their  cause,  but  without  any  of  the 
realizing  sense  of  sympathy  springing  from  personal 
interest  or  attachment,  the  affair  failed  of  its  im- 
pressiveness — first,  because  I  had  been  impressed  to 
my  full  capacity  by  a  similar  scene,  which  I  have 
already  described,*  at  Plevna  some  months  before, 
and  one  cannot  have  the  same  emotions  twice ;  and 
secondly,  because,  although  heartily  glad  to  be  out 
of  the  dangers  and  horrors  of  the  war,  and  rejoicing 
also  in  the  success,  of  the  Russian  cause,  which  I  be- 
lieved to  be  the  cause  of  right,  yet  I  could  not  over- 
come a  strange  feeling,  not  exactly  of  regret,  but  of 

*  Page    II. 


Constantinople.  191 

emptiness  and  languor,  because  the  future  seemed 
so  tame  and  devoid  of  occupation. 

When  one's  mind  has  been  concentrated  for 
several  months  on  one  set  of  ideas,  wondering  each 
day  what  the  next  will  bring  forth,  leading  a  life  of 
the  utmost  excitement,  novelty,  and  danger,  and  in- 
volving from  hour  to  hour  such  fundamental  ques- 
tions of  fact  as  life  and  death ;  when  one  has  had 
during  a  considerable  period  a  diet  of  such  strong 
nervous  food,  and  then  suddenly  sees  it  come  to  an 
end,  and  has  to  contemplate  the  return  to  a  quiet 
and  comparatively  inactive  life — after  the  first  sigh 
of  "Thank  God"  at  the  escape  from  danger,  there 
comes  an  indefinable  feeling  of  horrible  dread  of 
ennui.  It  lasts  but  a  few  days  or  hours  before  one 
returns  most  contentedly  to  his  accustomed  life,  but 
it  is  none  the  less  strong  for  the  moment. 

Already,  while  the  review  was  going  on,  the  fol- 
lowing message  from  the  Grand  Duke  to  the  Em- 
peror was  traveling  over  the  wires.  It  represented 
fairly  the  feelings  of  the  army,  though  its  phrase- 
ology sounds  quecrly  to  western  ears : 

"San  Stefano,  Sunday,  Feb.  19  (Mar.  3),  5  P.  M. 

"  I  have  the  good  fortune  to  congratulate  Your 
Imperial  Majesty  on  the  occasion  of  the  signing  of 
the  peace.  God  has  granted  to  us.  Sire,  to  accom- 
plish   the    great,    the    holy   mission  that    you  had 


19-  Army  Lift'  in  Russia. 

assumed.  It  is  on  this  anniversary  day  of  /the 
emancipation  of  the  Russian  peasants  that  Your 
Majesty  has  liberated  the  Christians  from  the  Mus- 
suhr.an  yoke.  NICHOLAS." 

Immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  peace  the 
Grand  Vizier  and  other  high  Turkish  officials,  both 
ci\-il  and  military,  came  out  to  San  Stefano  to  pay 
their  respects  to  the  Grand  Duke,  and  negotiations 
were  at  once  begun  to  arrange  a  visit  of  the  Grand 
Duke  to  the  Sultan.  But  questions  of  etiquette  and 
other  details  delayed  it  for  more  than  three  weeks. 
Finally  it  was  arranged  that  the  Grand  Duke  and 
staff  should  proceed  to  Constantinople  by  water  and 
be  received  by  the  Sultan  at  his  palaces  on  the  Bos- 
phorus,  after  which  they  would  land  and  be  driven 
to  the  Russian  Embassy,  and  pass  the  night  there. 

On  a  beautiful  bright  morning  the  Grand  Duke 
and  about  seventy-five  members  of  his  staff  em- 
barked on  board  the  Emperor's  yacht  "  Livadia," 
and  another  vessel  which  had  meanwhile  arrived 
from  the  Black  Sea,  and  we  steamed  around  Seraglio 
Point  into  the  Bosphorus.  The  harbor  presented  a 
gay  scene,  the  Turkish  men-of-war  and  all  the  for- 
eign stationnaircs  displaying  their  bunting  and  man- 
ning the  yards.  Opposite  the  palace  of  Dolma-Batche, 
about  three  miles  above  Pera,  the  ships  stopped  and 
the  Grand  Duke  went  ashore  in  a  ■sX?iXq.  caique ,  being 
received  at  the  landing  by  the  Sultan.     The  ships 


Constantinople.  193 

then  continued  their  way  a  few  miles  up  the  Bos- 
phorus  to  the  palace  of  Beyler-bey,  on  the  Asiatic 
shore.  Here  we  all  went  ashore,  and  a  half  hour 
later  were  joined  by  the  Grand  Duke,  at  whose  dis- 
posal this  palace  had  been  placed  in  order  to  allow 
the  Sultan  to  make  a  return  visit.  This  palace, 
although  small,  containing  not  more  than  thirty 
rooms,  is  one  of  the  most  exquisite  of  all  those  which 
line  the  shores  of  the  Bosphorus.  It  was  built  com- 
paratively recently,  and  was  completely  renovated  in 
1867  for  the  Empress  Eugenie,  who  occupied  it  dur- 
ing her  visit  to  Constantinople.  A  sea-wall  runs 
along  the  Bosphorus  in  front  of  it,  at  each  end  of 
which  is  a  little  kiosk,  or  "  summer  house,"  whose 
sides  are  almost  wholly  of  glass,  the  interior  fur- 
nished with  a  broad  divan  in  blue  and  straw-colored 
satin,  on  which  one  could  easily  be  content  to  pass 
hours  in  simply  watching  the  beautiful  stream.  Be- 
hind the  wall  is  a  series  of  gardens  surrounding  the 
palace,  filled  with  flowers  and  fountains,  and  rising 
in  tiers  above  one  another  on  the  abrupt  hill.  At 
the  top  of  this  are  cages  of  wild  animals  of  various 
kinds,  one  of  which  contained  at  that  time  a  far- 
famed  tiger  of  great  beauty  and  wonderful  size.  The 
palace  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  lower  terrace  of 
the  garden,  not  over  two  hundred  feet  from  the  edge 
of  the  stream  ;  it  is  three  stories  high,  built  of  pure 

white  marble  in  the  ornate  style  of  the  renaissance, 
9 


194  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

uhich  is  well  fitted  to  a  building  of  its  small  size. 
Ascending  the  steps,  we  passed  through  a  broad  ves- 
tibule into  the  grand  central  hall,  which  was  about 
fift\'  by  sixty  feet,  and  extended  up  to  a  highly 
decorated  skylight  in  the  roof.  The  galleries  of  the 
floors  above  were  upheld  by  marble  columns,  and 
the  walls,  floor,  and  ceiling  were  also  of  marble.  In 
the  center  was  a  grand  fountain,  the  basin  of  which 
was  about  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter,  and  which 
had  innumerable  small  jets  playing  from  the  side 
and  from  a  group  of  figures  in  the  center,  produc- 
ing that  moisture  in  the  air  and  that  gentle  sound 
of  rippling  water  which  are  so  agreeable  and  sooth- 
incf  to  the  senses  in  hot  weather. 

The  various  rooms  opened  off  of  this  main  central 
hall,  and  into  one  of  them  we  were  shown,  where  we 
were  served  with  coffee,  and  every  variety  of  sweets 
and  wine,  several  of  the  large  dishes  being  of  solid 
gold. 

After  partaking  of  these,  we  were  asked  to  walk 
about  the  palace,  pending  the  arrival  of  the  Sultan. 
The  rooms  were  all  in  keeping  with  the  hall  which  I 
have  described.  One  of  them  in  particular  attracted 
my  attention  ;  it  was  in  the  second  story,  in  the  cor- 
ner looking  toward  Constantinople ;  the  ceilings, 
walls,  and  floors  were  all  of  wood  mosaics,  principally 
different  varieties  of  olive  wood  polished  to  the 
highest  degree,  and  of  a  beauty  of  design  in  figures 


Constantinople.  195 

which  I  have  never  seen  rivaled.  In  the  center  of 
the  room  stood  one  of  those  queer — and  very  un- 
healthy— articles  of  furniture,  resembling  an  ancient 
brazier,  which  is  found  in  nearly  every  Turkish  house, 
and  which,  when  filled  with  live  coals,  answers  the 
purpose  of  a  stove.  They  are  usually  constructed 
of  brass,  and  many  of  them  are  of  handsome  design. 
But  this  one — which  was  not  less  than  three  feet 
high — was  of  a  single  piece  of  carved  crystal !  On 
the  inside  were  a  few  metal  projections  on  which  the 
pan  of  coals  would  rest  when  used,  and  whose  bril- 
liancy of  reflection  in  the  surrounding  crystal  can  be 
easily  imagined. 

It  was  a  queer  sight  to  watch  the  Russian  officers, 
dressed  in  full  uniform,  but  not  free  from  the  rough 
appearance  of  men  just  from  a  campaign,  striding 
over  these  exquisite  floors  of  wood  and  marble,  in 
long  boots  and  spurs  and  clanking  metal  sabers. 

While  we  were  still  examining  the  building,  word 
was  brought  of  the  approach  of  the  Sultan.  In  for- 
mer times  he  used  always  to  travel  over  the  Bos- 
phorus  in  a  caique  of  twenty-four  oars,  seated  on  a 
dais,  and  the  rudder  held  by  the  Minister  of  the 
Navy.  Now  he  usually  travels  in  a  little  steam  yacht 
of  exquisite  proportions  and  beautiful  furniture.  He 
arrived  in  this,  and  the  Grand  Duke  met  him  at  the 
water's  edge,  and  they  two  led  the  way  into  the  pal- 
ace. Nothing  could  be  in  greater  contrast  than  these 


196  Ariiiy  Life  in  Riissia. 

two  men.  The  Grand  Duke  is  a  man  of  about  six 
feet  three  inches  in  height,  with  full  chest  and  broad 
shoulders  ;  he  was  dressed  in  a  general's  full  uniform, 
and  wore  high  boots  and  a  clanking  sword.  The  Sul- 
tan wore  a  plain  fez,  and  that  peculiar  single-breast- 
ed, high-buttoned  black  coat  which  the  Turks  in  late 
years  have  invented  to  agree  with  western  ideas,  and 
adopted  as  their  full  dress  ;  it  resembles  most  closely 
the  conventional  coat  of  a  Methodist  parson.  The 
Sultan  is  a  small  man,  and  the  top  of  his  fez  barely 
reached  the  Grand  Duke's  shoulder;  he  looked  hag- 
gard and  frightened,  and  his  eyes  darted  rapidly  but 
stealthily  from  side  to  side,  as  if  he  feared  injury 
from  some  one  in  the  crowd.  These  two  men  walk- 
ing side  by  side  suggested  the  relative  position  at 
that  moment  of  the  two  nations  they  represented — 
big,  burly,  noisy,  victorious  Russia ;  and  weak,  timid, 
humbled  Turkey. 

The  members  of  the  staff  were  presented  to  the 
Sultan  in  the  upper  hall,  and  then  the  two,  accom- 
panied by  an  interpreter,  went  into  the  room  I  have 
mentioned  to  take  a  cup  of  coffee  and  exchange 
compliments  in  a  few  minutes'  conversation. 

The  visit  being  over,  the  Sultan  was  escorted  back 
to  his  yacht,  and  most  of  the  staff  seated  themselves 
in  the  various  imperial  caiques  which  were  in  wait- 
ing. The  one  in  which,  in  company  with  three  other 
ofificers,  I  took  passage,  was  about  twenty-five  feet 


Constantinople.  197 

long,  made  of  some  wood  resembling  the  Spanish 
cedar  in  color,  and  highly  polished  and  oiled.  It 
had  ten  oarsmen,  sitting  in  pairs,  dressed  entirely  in 
white  except  the  red  fez,  and  their  necks  and  breasts 
exposed  to  the  air.  In  the  stern-sheets  were  soft 
cushions  of  blue  satin,  so  low  (on  account  of  the 
crankiness  of  the  craft)  that  it  was  necessary  to  re- 
cline rather  than  sit  on  them.  The  Sultan's  caiques 
certainly  surpass  any  row-boats  in  the  world  in  their 
gorgeous  splendor,  and  they  are  the  equal  of  any  in 
grace  and  beauty  of  outline.  The  pleasure  of  riding 
in  them  on  the  Bosphorus  is  equaled  only  by  that 
of  moving  about  in  a  gondola  at  Venice,  or  in  an 
Indian  canoe  on  our  western  lakes. 

On  arriving  at  the  outskirts  of  Pera,  on  the  Euro- 
pean shore,  wc  were  met  by  carriages  which  con- 
veyed us  into  the  city.  The  Grand  Duke  and  a  few 
others  entered  the  Russian  Embassy,  whose  black 
eagles  over  the  gate  had  just  been  uncovered  for  the 
first  time  since  the  declaration  of  war,  eleven  months 
before. 

The  war  being  now  over,  every  one  thought  only 
of  returning  to  Russia,  and  began  counting  the  days 
to  their  departure.  The  mails  came  quickly  direct 
from  Odessa,  naval  and  supply  vessels  came  from 
time  to  time  to  anchor  in  front  of  San  Stefano, 
news  was  brought  that  a  large  fleet  of  transports 
was  being  collected   at  Odessa  to  take   the  troops 


198  Army  Life  in  Russia, 

home,  and  every  one  hastened  to  the  bazar  to  buy 
some  souvenir  to  take  home  from  Turkey,  or  hurried 
up  his  sight-seeing.  It  was  announced  that  the 
first  troops  would  embark  on  the  20th  of  March 
from  Buyukdere. 

This  is  a  Httle  village  on  the  Bosphorus,  about 
half  way  between  the  Sea  of  Marmora  and  the 
Black  Sea,  and  it  was  selected  on  account  of  its 
good  harbor,  San  Stefano  being  perfectly  open  and 
without  docks  or  piers  where  large  ships  could  land. 
But,  as  the  above  date  approached,  the  troops  re- 
ceived no  orders  to  move,  and  then  it  was  learned 
that  the  English  Ambassador  had  protested  to  the 
Turks  against  allowing  the  troops  to  march  around 
Constantinople,  on  the  ground  that  in  so  doing  they 
would  become  possessed  of  certain  positions  com- 
manding the  city.  The  Turks  thereupon  declined 
to  allow  the  Russians  to  embark  from  this  place. 

It  being  impossible  to  embark  any  number  of  men 
and  horses  from  San  Stefano,  the  contract  for  the 
transport  fleet  was  revoked.  A  few  days  later,  on 
April  1st,  appeared  Lord  Salisbury's  famous  circu- 
lar, criticising  the  San  Stefano  treaty,  and  plainly 
intimating  that  England  would  not  accept  its 
terms.  The  project  of  embarkation  was  then  in- 
definitely postponed. 

And  now  followed  a  curious  instance,  reflecting 
the  highest  credit  upon  Russian  discipline,  of  a  vie- 


CoJistantinople.  1 99 

torious  army  being  held  completely  and  absolutely 
subservient  to  polidcal  necessities.  Having  for  the 
time  being  completely  destroyed  the  military^  power 
of  their  enemy,  the  Russian  army  had  arrived  in 
front  of  the  capital  of  the  defeated  nation — a  capital 
too,  on  which  their  eyes  had  been  fixed  for  many 
long  generations — and  quietly  remained  there  with- 
out entering  it. 

Their  only  desire  was  to  return  to  their  homes  and 
families,  receive  congratulations  for  their  glorious 
deeds,  and  resume  their  ordinary  avocations.  But 
the  defeated  nation,  at  the  instance  of  a  neutral 
power,  interposed  insurmountable  obstacles  to  their 
departure.  Still  they  remained  outside,  while  as 
yet  the  capital  lay  entirely  at  their  mercy,  and 
could  have  been  possessed  the  moment  the  order 
was  given.  Nor  was  this  all ;  for  while  longing  only 
for  home,  and  anxiously  awaiting  the  development 
of  diplomatic  events,  the  remnants  of  the  Turkish 
army  were  reorganized  and  recruited,  and  under 
their  very  eyes  the  Russians  saw  springing  up,  and 
growing  day  by  day,  a  long  line  of  defensive  works, 
which  six  weeks  later  rendered  Constantinople  safe 
against  a  cotip-dc-wain,  and  were  soon  afterward  so 
strong  that  some  persons  deemed  them  invulner- 
able, and  all  acknowledged  that  they  could  not  be 
carried  in  open  assault  without  the  loss  of  fully 
fifteen  thousand  men. 


200  y\r)>i}>  Life  in  Russia. 

No  wonder  that  the  spirits  of  the  men  began  to 
languish.  Their  position  was  one  to  command  the 
sympath)'  of  every  soldier ;  they  had  been  in  the 
field  for  fully  a  year,  had  fought  a  war  marked  with 
checkered  successes  and  failures  in  the  beginning, 
but  concluded  with  a  brilliant  success,  due  almost 
wholly  to  their  patient  endurance  of  hardship ;  part 
of  them  had  marched  six  hundred  miles  without 
seeing  their  knapsacks  and  without  changing  their 
clothes  ;  their  boots  were  dropping  to  pieces,  and 
they  had  no  tents;  everything  was,  in  fact,  worn  out 
except  the  guns  in  their  hands,  the  cartridges  in 
their  pouches,  and  their  own  splcnd'id  devotion ; 
they  were  herded  about  in  small  villages,  the  little 
huts  of  which  afforded  a  miserable  shelter  to  only 
about  half,  leaving  the  rest  out  in  the  open. 

Their  mental  condition  was  quite  as  trying  as 
their  bodily  discomfort.  During  the  campaign,  the 
intense  excitement  of  rapid  marching,  sharp  fight- 
ing, and  success,  had  buoyed  up  their  spirits  and 
enabled  them  to  endure  what  seem  incredible  hard- 
ships ;  now  they  were  idle,  longing  to  go  home 
to  receive  their  reward,  but  kept  here  in  perfect 
inaction,  and  in  necessary  ignorance  of  the  object 
or  result  of  it. 

The  effect  upon  health  of  a  sudden  change  from 
a  life  of  intense  mental  and  physical  activity  to  one 
of  dull  inaction  is  well  known  to  all  physicians ;  in 


Co7ista)itinople,  20 1 

addition,  these  men  had  been  marching  for  several 
weeks  in  intense  cold,  with  but  the  one  shirt  which 
was  on  their  backs ;  and,  finally,  in  their  bivouacs 
the  plainest  principles  of  sanitary  hygiene  were  ut- 
terly disregarded.  Dead  animals  lay  a  few  feet  off, 
rotting  in  the  spring  sun  for  weeks  before  they  were 
buried ;  there  were  few  latrines,  and  what  there  were 
were  insufificient ;  different  regiments  bivouacked 
along  the  same  stream,  the  filth  of  those  near  its 
source  being  washed  down  into  the  drinking  water  of 
those  below  them.  This  subject  was  one  of  universal 
remark  among  foreigners,  and  there  is  but  one  word 
to  apply  to  their  bivouacs — they  were  simply  filthy. 

All  these  causes  combined,  and  produced  their 
natural  result.  Toward  the  last  of  April  every 
variety  of  camp  fever  broke  forth,  from  the  mild 
forms  of  malarial  ague,  through  the  typhoids  to  the 
typhus,  and  finally  the  typhus  with  spots,  which  is 
not  greatly  different  from  the  plague.  They  spread 
so  rapidly  that  throughout  the  months  of  May  and 
June  fully  one-half  of  the  whole  Russian  force  near 
Constantinople  lay  on  their  backs ;  so  many  doctors 
and  nurses  died  that  it  was  not  unusual  for  one  sur- 
geon to  have  over  a  thousand  patients  dependent 
solely  on  him — so  large  a  number  that,  for  sheer 
lack' of  time,  the  lighter  cases  could  not  be  visited 
more  than  once  in  three  or  f(jur  days. 

Toward   the    latter   part    of    June,    the   sickness 

a* 


202  Arf/if  Life  in  Rjissia. 

seemed  to  diminish,  and  a  month  later  it  had  near- 
ly disappeared.  During  these  three  months  over 
thirty  thousand  sick  had  been  transported  to 
Odessa  by  the  Red  Cross  Society,  and  those  who 
remained  had  been  provided  with  fresh  clothing 
and  tents,  and  had  moved  their  camps  to  higher 
ground.  Of  the  mortality  of  those  who  were  dis- 
persed through  the  hospitals  of  Russia,  I  am  unaj^le 
to  speak  ;  but  of  those  who  were  treated  on  the 
spot,  it  was  singularly  small,  not  amounting  to  over 
five  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  those  taken 
sick. 

Some  of  the  Cossacks  who  returned  to  the  Cau- 
casus carried  the  seeds  of  the  disease  with  them, 
and,  inflamed  by  local  causes,  it  broke  forth  with 
great  malignity  the  next  spring  as  the  plague, 
whose  ravages  in  southeastern  Russia  during  the 
summer  of  1879  'i^c  well  known. 

In  Count  von  Moltke's  history  of  the  campaign 
of  1828-29,  there  is  given  a  very  full  account  of  the 
sickness  which  broke  out  in  Dicbitch's  army  after 
he  had  reached  Adrianople,  and  which  increased  to 
such  an  extent  that  one-third  of  his  force  was  help- 
lessly ill,  and  the  rest  took  turns  of  doing  military 
duty  one  day,  and  shaking  with  intermittent  fevers 
the  next.  In  this  case,  however,  the  mortality  was 
exceptionally  great,  nearly  forty  per  cent. 

The  same  sickness  on  a  still  greater  scale  was  re- 


Constantinople.  203 

peated  at  the  close  of  the  Crimean  War.  As 
neither  the  Crimea  nor  Roumeha  are  naturally  un- 
healthy countries,  the  main  cause  of  it  must  be 
found  in  the  traditionally  bad  sanitary  arrange- 
ments of  the  Russian  camps. 

There  is  something  peculiarly  sad  and  cruel  in 
the  fate  of  a  brave  soldier  who  survives  the  perils 
of  many  a  bloody  field  only  to  fall  a  victim  to  an 
insidious  disease  a  few  months  later.  This  was  the 
fate  of  only  too  many  of  the  Russians.  A  terrible 
gloom  spread  over  the  army,  and  was  reflected  at 
once  throughout  Russia.  The  pitiable  condition  of 
these  gallant  men,  waiting  helplessly  on  diplomacy 
in  front  of  Constantinople,  watching  the  enemy's 
fortifications  grow  under  their  very  eyes,  and  falling 
sick  daily  by  thousands,  called  forth  the  bitterest 
feelings  throughout  Russia.  Without  due  reflec- 
tion, people  at  home  visited  their  discontent  upon 
the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  as  has  been  already  nar- 
rated. Ostensibly  on  account  of  his  health  (which 
in  reality  was  not  good,  for  he  was  suffering  from  a 
return  of  a  complaint  of  the  liver,  which  had  trou- 
bled him  more  or  less  throughout  the  whole  cam- 
paign), and  at  his  own  request,  the  Grand  Duke 
was  relieved  from  command  on  the  24th  of  April, 
the  anniversary  of  the  declaration  of  war,  being  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  field  marshal  on  the  same  day. 
He  returned  to  Russia,  the  object  of  such  unpopu- 


204  Anny  Life  in  Russia. 

larity  that  it  was  difficult  to  secure  him  the  respect 
due  to  his  position,  much  less  to  his  great  and  emi- 
nent services.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  command 
of  the  army  by  General  Todlcben,  but  no  active 
operations  were  afterward  resumed,  for  the  treaty 
of  Berlin  was  signed  a  few  weeks  later.  The  troops 
began  gradually  returning  to  Russia  in  the  follow- 
ing month  of  August. 


CHAPTER     IX. 


ST.    PETERSBURG. 


There  is  but  little  in  the  general  appearance  of 
St.  Petersburg  which  is  distinctively  Russian,  the 
only  great  city  of  the  pure  Russian  type  being  Mos- 
cow. In  St.  Petersburg  there  is  here  and  there  a 
gilded  dome,  or  one  covered  with  stars  on  a  blue 
field,  but  the  city  is  essentially  of  the  cosmopolitan 
modern  type,  resembling  Berlin  more  than  any  other, 
but  not  differing  greatly  from  the  more  recent  addi- 
tions to  Paris  and  Vienna.  The  streets  are  broad  and 
straight,  usually  paved  with  stone,  and  the  buildings 
are  long  rows  of  stuccoed  structures  of  a  barrack-like 
character,  singularly  devoid  of  architectural  variety. 

The  whole  appearance  of  the  place  is  essentially 
military  and  bureaucratic,  and  a  large  proportion  of 
the  people  one  meets  on  the  street  are  in  uniform. 
Those  who  wear  spurs  and  trail  a  sword  clanking  at 
their  heels  are  officers  of  the  army,  and  those  who 
wear  a  black  uniform  with  white  buttons  and  orna- 
ments arc  civil  servants ;  the  total  number  of  these 
two  classes   in   the  whole   city  amounts  Vo  a  good 

many  thousands.     The  policemen  arc  old  soldiers, 

205 


2o6  Arii/v  Life  in  Russia. 

aiul  wear  a  uniform  closely  resembling  that  of  the 
army,  and  they  also  carry  a  sword.  No  small  part 
of  their  time  is  taken  up  in  keeping  a  lookout  for 
oflficers,  every  one  of  whom,  whether  on  foot,  on 
horseback,  or  in  a  carriage,  they  are  required  to  face 
and  salute.*  When  a  junior  officer  meets  a  general, 
he  not  only  salutes  him,  but  stands  fast  on  the  curb, 
facing  the  general  and  holding  his  hand  at  his  cap, 
until  he  has  passed.  When  a  member  of  the  im- 
perial family,  no  matter  how  young,  passes  in  his 
carriage,  every  officer,  of  the  highest  as  well  as  the 
lowest  grade,  stops  and  faces  him  in  the  same  way 
during  his  salute. 

This  great  number  of  uniforms  gives  an  air  of 
brightness  to  the  otherwise  gloomy  streets,  over- 
shadowed by  the  never-varying  dull  gray  sky ;  and 
an  additional  element  of  life  is  given  by  the  equip- 
ages, which  are  of  an  entirely  unique  character.  The 
picture  of  the  fashionable  carriage  of  the  West,  with 
dignified  Jeames  seated  high  on  the  box,  immovable, 
with  his  whip  on  his  thigh,  and  a  reduced  edition 
of  himself  on  a  lower  plane  to  his  left  in  the  form 
of  Thomas,  sitting  equally  immovable,  with  arms 


*  This  has  been  changed  by  a  recent  order,  dated  March  20,  1880, 
of  General  Melikoff,  Chief  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council,  which 
limits  the  salutes  to  the  Emperor  and  members  of  the  imperial 
family,  in  order  that  the  police  may  give  their  whole  attention  to  the 
maintenance  of  public  order. 


5/,  Petersburg.  207 

folded,  and  before  them  a  pair  of  clipped  and  banged 
three-quarter-breds,  their  eyes  covered  with  blinders 
and  their  heads  checked  very  high,  throwing  their 
feet  well   in   the   air  but   not   advancing   above   six 
miles  an  hour — all  this  is  as  familiar  in  Vienna  and 
Paris  as  in  London  and  New  York,  but   it   is  never 
seen  in  St.  Petersburg  except  in   the  case  of  some 
young  guardsman,  who  considers  it  a  swell  thing  to 
have  one  of  his  turn-outs  aV Anglaise.    The  fashion- 
able carriage  of  St.  Petersburg  is  totally  unlike  this ; 
it  is  a  caleche,  or  victoria,  built  very  heavy,  and  is 
drawn  by  two  coal-black  OrlofT  trotters,  with  curved 
necks,   long   manes,    tails    reaching   nearly    to    the 
ground,  and  shaggy  fetlocks ;  the  collar  and  traces 
are  strong,  but  there  is  no  blinder,  check-rein,  saddle, 
or  breeching,  and  the  bridle  is   composed  of   such 
small  pieces  of  leather  that  it  is  hardly  visible;  the 
reins  are  of  blue  cloth,  and  there  is  one  for  each  side 
of  the  bit,  making  four  for  a  pair  of  horses ;  there 
is  no  footman  on  the  box,  and  the  driver,  who  seems 
to  be  chosen  for  his  large  girth,  is  dressed   in  the 
costume  which  is  worn  by  every  coachman,  whether 
driving  a  prince's  carriage  or  a  little  drosclike  at  ten 
cents  an  hour.     It  consists  simply  of  a  low-crowned 
stiff  hat,  and  a  long  blue  tunic,   crossed    over  his 
breast   and   reaching  quite  to  his  feet.     But  what 
principally  distinguishes  the  Russian  equipage  is  its 
animation ;  they  drive  at  ten  miles  an  hour  through 


2o8  Army  Life  in  Ritssia. 

the  most  crowded  streets,  yelling  at  people  to  get 
out  of  the  way ;  the  horses'  eyes  and  nostrils  are 
full  of  fire,  and  the  coachman,  whose  short  little 
whip  hangs  by  a  string  from  his  wrist  and  is  rarely 
used  or  seen,  is  no  less  animated,  as  he  stretches 
both  hands  forward,  watching  his  animals  most  in- 
tently, and  looking  as  if  he  were  driving  in  a  race. 
They  are  the  best  drivers  as  a  class  that  I  have  ever 
seen. 

When  the  Russians  drive  more  than  two  horses 
they  hitch  them  up  abreast  instead  of  in  pairs,  and 
their  favorite  team  is  the  troika,  or  three  horses 
abreast,  the  middle  one  trotting  and  the  outsiders 
galloping.  The  excitement  of  rapid  driving  in  this 
style  is  very  enjoyable,  and  one  of  the  principal 
amusements  of  winter  is  to  get  a  sleigh  and  troika 
and  go  out  to  some  of  the  concert  halls  in  the  sub- 
urbs to  hear  the  gipsies  sing  and  watch  them  dance. 
Another  swell  equipage  for  a  young  bachelor  is  a 
handsomely-mounted  little  droschke,  with  two  horses, 
— one  jet-black,  trotting  in  shafts,  with  head  erect, 
and  the  other  a  light  gray,  galloping  by  the  side,  with 
his  head  kept  out  and  down  by  a  side  line.  The 
efTect  is  very  pretty,  though  the  constrained  position 
of  the  free  horse  uses  him  up  after  a  couple  of  years 
at  the  most. 

The  furious  gait  at  which  they  drive,  and  the 
rough  stone  pavements,  tell  very  severely  on  their 


Sl  Petersburg.  2og 

horses,  and  no  one  who  pretends  to  keep  a  hand- 
some turnout  ever  drives  the  same  horses  on  suc- 
cessive days. 

The  streets  are  much  less  crowded  than  in  other 
great  cities,  Peter  laid  out  his  town  on  both  sides 
of  the  Neva,  and  he  also  applied  the  principles  he 
had^  seen  in  Holland,  by  building  radial  and  con- 
centric canals  through  the  main  part  of  the  city. 
These  canals  are  faced  with  fine  granite  walls 
throughout  their  length,  and  in  summer  they  afford 
the  means  of  transporting  heavy  merchandise  with- 
out recourse  to  wagons.  No  heavy  hauling  is  per- 
mitted on  any  of  the  main  streets  in  the  fashionable 
quarter,  except  in  certain  hours. 

In  summer,  all  the  "  world "  leaves  town,  not 
from  any  necessity,  for  it  is  never  hot,  but  because 
it  is  the  fashion.  They  go  to  their  estates  in  the 
interior,  or  to  the  German  and  French  watering 
places.  Those  who  are  obliged  to  remain  amuse 
themselves  in  the  evening  by  driving  to  Yelagin 
Island,  or,  as  it  is  commonly  called,  "  the  Point." 
The  various  channels  of  the  delta  of  the  Neva 
form  about  a  dozen  islands  of  various  sizes  on  the 
north  of  the  main  Neva,  and  four  of  these,  of  which 
Yelagin  is  one,  lying  next  to  each  other,  constitute 
a  great  park  of  over  fifteen  hundred  acres.  There 
arc  here  and  there  some  private  country-scats  in  it, 
and  a  few  public   gardens  with  out-door  theaters, 


2IO  Arfny  Life  in  Russia. 

but  full)-  half  is  covered  with  forest-trees,  from 
A\hich  the  underbush  has  been  cut  away  and  re- 
placed by  lawns,  and  through  which  are  numerous 
well-built  roads. 

In  midsummer  the  sun  does  not  set  until  about 
ten  o'clock,  and  the  twilight  lasts  for  a  full  hour 
later;  these  four  or  five  hours  after  dinner  are  oc- 
cupied by  everybody  in  a  drive  to  "  the  Point,"  or  a 
visit  to  one  of  the  gardens.  The  sun  shines  more  or 
less  in  summer,  though  rarely  on  two  days  in  suc- 
cession ;  the  air  is  pleasant,  barring  a  little  damp- 
ness which  renders  a  light  overcoat  necessary  at 
sunset,  and  this  great  park,  though  but  little  culti- 
vated by  art,  is  a  very  agreeable  place  for  recrea- 
tion. 

In  winter  the  whole  scene  changes.  Snow  begins 
faUing  in  October,  and  by  the  1st  of  November  the 
sleighing  is  firmly  established  ;  the  Neva  and  all  the 
canals  are  tightly  frozen,  the  sun  is  not  seen  for 
weeks  at  a  time,  and  the  snow  falls  in  fine  flakes 
during  a  greater  or  less  portion  of  nearly  every  day ; 
it  seldom  comes  in  storms  ^\'ith  high  wind,  but 
seems  to  be  sifting  down  with  occasional  intermis- 
sions nearly  all  the  time.  The  cold  compels  every 
one  in  the  streets  to  wear  such  a  mass  of  cloaks  and 
wraps  that  it  makes  little  difference  whether  it  is 
snowing  or  not. 

About  four  inches   of  snow  is  allowed  to   remain 


S/.  Petersburg.  21 1 

on  the  streets  for  sleighing,  and  the  rest  is  hauled 
away.  There  are  no  thaws,  and  but  very  few  ex- 
tremes of  cold  ;  the  average  temperature  is  about 
ten  degrees  above  zero,  Fahrenheit,  all  the  time. 

The  "world"  has  now  returned,  the  streets  are  full 
of  handsome  sleighs,  the  celebrated  jewelry  shops 
are  lighted  to  their  brighest,  the  operas  and  theaters 
are  all  in  operation.  People  of  the  upper  class  get 
up  in  a  twilight  at  ten  in  the  morning,  have  a  cup 
of  coffee  in  their  own  apartments,  and  are  occupied 
with  their  private  affairs  until  noon,  when  they 
breakfast  at  home  or  in  the  cdfcs.  After  breakfast 
they  attend  to  their  public  business,  or  go  out  to  do 
shopping  for  a  couple  of  hours.  Returning  home 
between  two  and  three,  it  is  already  dark,  and  can- 
dles are  lighted.  Then  begins  the  round  of  after- 
noon visits,  which  continues  till  dinner,  which  is 
usually  at  six.  After  dinner  they  go  to  the  opera 
or  theater,  and  when  that  is  over,  at  eleven,  they  go 
to  a  ball  or  a  heavy  supper,  which  ends  the  day  at 
about  two  in  the  morning. 

Every  one,  except  a  few  very  rich  princes,  who 
have  their  own  great  palaces,  lives  in  a  "  flat  ;  "  not 
such  miniature  affairs  as  we  arc  familiar  with  in 
New  York,  but  a  series  of  fifteen  to  twenty  large, 
well-proportioned  apartments,  with  broad  halls.  In 
order  to  provide  such  a  suite  of  apartments  on  one 
floor,  the  houses  are  built  from  two  hundred  to  two 


212  Arwf  Life  in  Russia. 

hundred  and  fiftN'  feet  lone:,  'TicI  lookinjT  alonfj  the 
street,  instead  of  seeing  a  door  to  every  three  win- 
dows, you  see  only  one  to  over  twenty  windows ; 
in  a  word,  a  man's  house  is  separated  from  that  of 
his  neighbor  by  horizontal  rather  than  vertical  walls. 
The  outside  walls  are  very  thick  and  heavily 
stuccoed  with  plaster ;  the  windows  arc  invariably 
double,  and  the  space  between  them  is  packed  at 
the  bottom  with  sand  to  exclude  the  draught,  and  a 
little  salt  to  absorb  the  moisture  which  would  con- 
geal on  the  glass.  One  pane  of  the  eight  in  each 
window  is  set  on  hinges,  and  is  occasionally  opened 
to  admit  fresh  air.  It  is  a  common  mistake  to  sup- 
pose that  the  houses  are  kept  very  hot ;  this  is  not 
so;  the  air  is  sometimes  a  little  stale,  but  it  is  main- 
tained throughout  the  large  halls,  as  well  as  the 
rooms,  at  a  remarkably  uniform  temperature  of 
about  70°  Fahrenheit.  This  is  accomplished  by 
means  of  an  enormous  brick  stove  in  the  corner  of 
each  room,  reaching  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling, 
and  covered  over  in  handsome  apartments  by 
porcelain  tiles  ;  this  is  filled  with  wood  every  morn- 
ing, and,  after  the  fire  is  well  lighted,  the  dampers 
are  tightly  closed,  and  the  wood  smolders  for 
twenty-four  hours.  The  outside  of  the  stove  is 
never  hot  enough  to  burn  the  hand,  but  its  radiat- 
ing surface  is  so  large  that  the  room  is  kept  at  a 
very   agreeable   temperature.     In    addition    to   the 


SL  Pctersbiirg.  213 

stove,  people  who  can  afford  it  have  an  open  fire 
in  every  room,  for  purpose^  of  ventilation  and 
adornment  only. 

The  street  entrance  is  provided  with  three  sets  of 
doors,  which  are  evidently  necessary  in  order  to 
maintain  a  temperature  of  70°  inside  against  one  of 
zero  or  below  outside ;  in  the  hall  are  always  one  or 
two  porters  ready  to  take  the  wraps,  which  are  re- 
moved immediately  on  entering.  A  huge  mass  of 
furs  hobbles  through  the  doors  on  great  goloshes, 
and,  a  moment  later,  leaves  the  hands  of  the  porter 
a  graceful  young  lady  of  slender  figure,  a  dapper 
young  officer  in  tight-fitting  uniform,  or  possibly  a 
plethoric  old  general ;  wrapped  up  in  their  furs, 
they  are  all  equally  shapeless  and  undistinguishable, 
and  it  is  often  an  amusing  exercise  of  curiosity  to 
watch  the  disrobing,  and  see  what  form  of  human 
insect  will  emerge  from  the  chrysalis. 

The  building  of  St.  Petersburg  was  the  most 
despotic  act  ever  committed  in  this  most  autocratic 
of  modern  countries.  Had  not  Peter  been  the 
strongest  man  of  his  cotemporaries,  his  people 
would  have  clapped  him  in  the  mad-house  when  he 
ordered  them  to  build  a  city  out  in  a  morass,  where 
even  to-day  no  great  structure  can  be  erected  with- 
out disturbing  the  foundations  of  its  neighbors. 
The  Isaac  Cathedral  rests  on  a  forest  of  piles,  and 
still  the  unequal  settlement  defaces  the  walls  so  con- 


214  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

stantly  that  there  has  never  been  a  year  when  work- 
men were  not  busy  repairing  them.  It  is  a  Russian 
proverb  that  in  St.  Petersburg  "  hearts  are  always 
dry  and  the  streets  are  ahvays  wet."  St.  Peters- 
burg is  so  Httle  a  natural  site  for  a  great  city  that 
to-day,  when  it  is  a  hundred  and  seventy  years  old, 
it  is  approached  from  any  direction  only  by  riding 
over  a  hundred  miles  of  well-nigh  uninhabited 
country.  From  the  edge  of  the  city  you  emerge  at 
once  into  endless,  uncultivated  plains,  across  which 
you  would  travel  for  days  in  a  carriage  before 
reaching  any  thickly  settled  region.  But  for  an 
imperial  command,  no  city  would  ever  have  arisen 
on  the  site  of  the  present  capital  of  Russia. 

We  often  read  of  certain  events  in  history  "which 
changed  the  whole  course  of  empire  ;"  as  a  rule,  the 
expression  is  exaggerated,  for  the  events  were 
usually  only  the  more  salient  features  of  a  long 
chain  of  development  depending  on  the  action  of 
many  minds.  But  the  building  of  St.  Petersburg  is 
an  exception  ;  it  was  the  isolated  act  of  one  man's 
mind,  and  it  has  determined  the  nature  of  the 
Avhole  course  of  modern  Russian  development, 
which  would  have  been  totally  different  had  he  de- 
cided differently. 

It  is  well  known  that  when  Peter  came  back  from 
his  travels  in  Western  Europe,  he  was  strongly  im- 
pressed with  the  commercial  greatness  of  England 


St.  Petersburg.  215 

and  Holland,  and  decided  that  the  first  step  neccs 
sary  to  rouse  Russia  from  her  lethargy,  and  bring 
her  into  the  family  of  civilized  nations,  was  to  pro- 
vide an  outlet  to  the  sea,  by  which  not  only  could 
she  begin  to  build  up  a  foreign  commerce,  but  learn 
the  ways  of  the  rest  of  the  world. 

He  had  two  courses  open  to  him— to  pitch  his  new 
capital  near  the  Baltic  or  on  the  Black  Sea.  In  favor 
of  the  former,  he  saw  that  he  already  possessed 
land  on  the  arms  of  the  Baltic,  from  which  he  could 
reach  the  ocean  without  hinderance  from  any  one 
nation,  though  his  route  would  be  closed  half  the 
year  by  ice  ;  it  was  also  the  shortest  route  to  Eng- 
land and  Holland.  In  favor  of  the  latter,  he  had  a 
mild  climate,  better  harbors,  and  a  highway  open 
all  the  year;  but  he  possessed  only  a  small  and  in- 
secure footing  on  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  route  from 
it  to  the  ocean  led  through  straits,  both  shores  of 
which  were  in  possession  of  a  foreign  power — Tur- 
key— then  one  of  the  most  powerful  states  in  Eu- 
rope. It  was  absolutely  impossible  for  him  to  hope 
to  conquer  possession  of  the  straits  during  his  own 
short  life-time.  He  therefore  chose  the  northern 
route,  and  was  forced  to  build  his  city  in  the  most 
thoroughly  uninviting  and  unpromising  spot  that 
ever  a  city  was  founded  upon.  In  order  to  give  it 
life,  he  removed  his  court  and  his  seat  of  govern- 
ment to  it.     Though  it  has  prospered  and  grown, 


2i6  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

proDciDiy  to  the  full  measure  of  his  anticipations, 
yet  it  is  doubtful  if  it  could  survive  even  now  were 
the  seat  of  government  removed  from  it. 

All  this  is  utterly  opposed  to  the  laws  of  natural 
selection,    which  have    ruled    in    the   establishment 
and  growth  of  cities  as  in  other  matters.    The  mod- 
ern characteristics  of  Russians  have  been  the  result 
of  this  mere  act  of  one  man,  undertaken,  not  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  spirit  of  his  time,  but  directly  in 
the  face  of  it.     The  mind  is  absolutely  lost  in  trying 
to   contemplate  what   would   have   been   the  result 
had  he  pitched  his  capital  on  the  Black  Sea.     The 
effect  of    a  warm    climate    and    an    easy    existence 
would  probably  have  so  modified  the  Russian  char- 
acter as  to  make  it  incapable  of  the   great  sacrifices 
which  it  has  from  time  to  time  shown  since  Peter's 
day ;  the  Eastern  question  would  have  been  forced 
to  a  settlement  one  way  or  the  other  three  genera- 
tions ago;  we  might  have  seen  the  dreams  of  Cathe- 
rine realized  long  before  the  day  of  the  Panslavists 
by  an  amalgamation  of  the  Slav  and  Greek  races  of 
Turkey  with  those  of  Russia,  and  the  founding  of  a 
Christian  empire  with  its  seat  on  the  Bosphorus;  or 
we  might  have  seen  the  northern   Slavs  degenerate 
like  those  of  the  south,  and  the  whole  fall  a  prey  to 
the  Turks  on   the  south  and  the  Germans  on  the 
north.     There  is  nothing  on  which  to  form  any  sure 
estimate   of  what   would    have  happened  ;  we    can 


S/.  Petersburg.  217 

only  affirm  that  the  national  character  would  have 
been  entirely  different,  and  the  course  of  Russian 
history  would  have  been  totally  changed.  It  seems 
hard  to  realize  that  one  man  actually  had  it  in  his 
power  to,  and  did,  cast  a  die  on  which  such  far- 
reaching  consequences  depended. 

I  have  already  said  that  the  military  aspect  pre- 
dominates on  the  streets,  and  I  might  add  that  it  per- 
meates the  whole  life  of  the  ruling  classes.  The  career 
of  every  young  man  in  the  great  families  is  begun  in 
the  Guards  ;  he  remains  in  the  army,  or  subsequently 
passes  into  the  diplomatic  or  civil  branches  of  the 
government  service,  according  to  his  taste  and  abil- 
ity ;  it  is  incumbent  on  him  to  serve  the  govern- 
ment in  some  capacity,  and  he  always  begins  by  the 
military  service.  The  subsequent  changes  some- 
times appear  to  a  foreigner  as  very  amusing;  the 
present  Minister  of  Finance,  for  example,  began  life 
as  a  cornet  of  cavalry,  was  afterward  in  a  diplo- 
matic post,  then  passed  into  the  navy  where  he  at- 
tained the  grade  of  admiral,  was  then  a  civil  gov- 
ernor of  a  province,  which  he  left  to  become  Comp- 
troller of  the  Empire,  and  is  now  Minister  of 
Finance.  He  is  still  young,  being  but  little  over 
fifty,  and  people  say  of  him  laughingly,  that  it  (inly 
remains  for  him  to  be  bishop  or  metropolitan  in 
the  church  in  order  to  make  his  career  complete. 

Similarly,  the  Minister  of  Public  Works  is  an  ad- 
10 


2iS  Ar7fiy  Life  in  Russia. 

miral  in  tlic  nav)',  and  the  late  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior was  a  general  of  cavalry.  The  number  of  am- 
bassadors who  have  been  generals  is  well  known, 
and  more  than  half  of  the  civil  governors  of 
provinces  are  chosen  from  the  army.  While  there 
is  now  less  of  this  interchanging  between  different 
branches  of  the  service  than  there  was  in  the  last 
reign  and  the  one  before  it,  yet  it  is  still  true,  as  it 
has  always  been,  that  the  army  is  the  pathway  to 
any  career  in  the  government  service. 

This  being  so,  the  whole  tenor  of  official  life  is 
essentially  military,  and  the  Emperor,  as  the  actual 
head  of  the  army,  devotes  no  small  portion  of  his 
time  to  his  duties  as  commander-in-chief ;  this  sets 
the  tone  of  the  court,  of  society,  and  of  the  governing 
classes,  and  it  would  hardly  be  saying  too  much  to 
affirm  that  the  country  is  governed  for  the  benefit 
of  the  army,  rather  than  the  army  being  maintained 
for  the  benefit  of  the  country. 

Along-side  of  the  summer  garden,  two  squares 
from  the  winter  palace,  and  separated  from  the 
Neva  only  by  the  houses  along  the  quay,  is  a  va- 
cant space,  over  twenty  acres  in  extent,  known  as 
the  Champ  de  Mars,  and  used  exclusively  as  a 
parade  ground.  About  forty  thousand  men  can 
be  assembled  in  it,  and  here  the  great  reviews  are 
held  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  and  on  the  occasion 
of  royal  visits. 


St.  Petersburz- 


£>• 


219 


During  the  winter,  the  extreme  cold  makes  out- 
door reviews  impossible,  and  the  Emperor  therefore 
holds  a  weekly  inspection  of  one  regiment  at  a  time 
in  the  great  riding  school,  a  structure  covering  in 
itself  over  three  acres  of  ground,  and  well  heated  by 
the  usual  immense  brick  stoves.  This  inspection, 
or  rasvod,  is  held  every  Sunday  after  church,  be- 
tween twelve  and  one  o'clock,  and  forms  one  of  the 
principal  events  of  the  week.  It  is  attended  by 
the  Emperor,  all  his  brothers  and  sons,  in  their  va- 
rious capacities  as  commanding  officers  of  different 
grades,  by  all  the  generals  of  the  guard,  and  by  the 
militar}^  attaches  of  the  several  embassies  and  lega- 
tions. Every  one  is  in  full  uniform,  the  men  arc 
dressed  in  their  best,  their  arms  are  bright,  the 
horses'  shoes  even  are  polished  like  mirrors ;  it  is 
altogether  a  pretty  sight.  The  Emperor,  Minister 
of  War,  aid-de-camp  on  duty,  and  the  foreign  offi- 
cers are  mounted  ;  all  the  others  are  on  foot. 

There  are  stationed  constantly  in  permanent 
barracks  in  St.  Petersburg  eight  infantry  regiments 
of  the  guard,  the  two  regiments  of  mounted  body- 
guard, two  regiments  of  Cossacks,  the  Emperor's 
escort,  and  several  batteries  of  artillery.  In  the 
neighboring  villages  along  the  Gulf  of  Finland  arc 
stationed  eight  more  regiments  of  cavalry,  as  many 
batteries,  and  four  regiments  of  the  line.  Altogether 
there  are  in  and  near  the  city  about  fifty  thousand 


220  Ar))iy  Life  in  Russia. 

troops  at  all  times.  Each  regiment  takes  its  turn 
at  one  of  these  Sunday  morning  inspections.  They 
are  reviewed,  inspected,  and  marched  past  by  the 
Emperor;  the  cavalry  regiments,  and  particularly  the 
Cossacks,  give  specimens  of  their  dexterity  in  riding, 
jumping,  handling  the  saber  and  pistol,  and  then 
the  Emperor  walks  or  rides  through  the  ranks  chat- 
ting familiarly  with  the  men. 

In  addition  to  these  Sunday  morning  inspections, 
each  regiment  is  reviewed  at  the  riding  school  on 
the  occasion  of  its  annual  fete  day ;  one  of  these 
fetes  occurs  every  week,  on  an  average,  throughout 
the  winter. 

Of  a  similar  nature  are  the  honors  paid  to  the 
distinguished  dead  of  the  army.  When  a  celebrated 
general  dies,  the  Emperor  attends  his  funeral  ser- 
vice; on  the  anniversary  of  the  death,  forty  days, 
half-a-year,  or,  possibly,  even  a  year  afterward,  the 
Emperor,  Minister  of  War,  chief  of  stafT,  and  dis- 
tinguished generals,  all  attend  a  mass  in  the  chapel 
of  the  palace,  for  the  repose  of  his  soul.  The 
same  thing  occurs  on  the  anniversary  of  the  late 
Emperor's  birthday,  of  the  death  of  the  present 
Emperor's  eldest  son,  and  on  other  anniversaries  of 
a  similar  character.  Again,  on  St.  Alexander's  day, 
the  Emperor,  important  personages,  and  the  diplo- 
matic corps,  attend  a  long  service  at  the  church  of 
St.  Alexander  Nevsky  ;  on  St.  Isaac's  day,  a  similar 


St.  Petersburg.  221 

service  at  the  Isaac  Cathedral,  and  so  on.  These 
forms  of  rehgious  ceremonial,  which  have  a  strong 
military  flavor  and  are  attended  in  full  uniform 
with  military  exactness,  form  part  of  the  daily  life. 
They  consume  an  amount  of  time  which  to  us  is 
almost  incredible  ;  the  best  part  of  the  day,  from  i 
to  3  P.M.,  is  given  up  to  one  or  another  of  them  on 
about  four  days  of  every  week.  The  same  habits 
permeate  all  classes  ;  a  man  is  repairing  your  house, 
making  you  a  suit  of  clothes,  or  doing  some  other 
tradesman's  or  mechanic's  work  for  you ;  it  is 
promised  on  a  certain  day,  and  you  are  disap- 
pointed at  its  not  being  done  in  time;  he  has  a 
ready  answer  for  you,  which,  in  his  mind,  is  a  per- 
fect excuse — yesterday,  or  the  day  before,  was  a 
praz7iik,  or  holiday,  perhaps  the  saint's  day  whose 
name  he  bears,  and  he  could  not  work  !  One  often 
wonders  how  any  business  is  ever  transacted  with 
the  delays  due  to  these  prazniks  and  ceremonies, 
but  it  is  the  custom  of  the  country,  and  people  gov- 
ern themselves  accordingly.  Things  seem  to  go  on, 
after  all,  about  as  smoothly  as  in  America,  where 
"  time  is  money," — an  expression,  by  the  way, 
which  always  affords  great  amusement  to  Russians. 
These  ceremonies  naturally  culminate  in  celebrat- 
ing the  great  events  of  life;  viz.,  birth,  marriage, 
and  death.  In  December,  1878,  I  assisted  at  the 
christening  of  His   Imperial   Highness,   the  Grand 


222  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

Duke  Mikhail  Alcxandrovitch,  youngest  son  of  the 
heir  to  the  throne.  He  was  born  during  the  night  pre- 
ceding a  grand  review,  and  at  the  review  the  next  day 
a  battery  was  halted  in  marching  past,  and  informed 
by  the  Emperor  that  it  had  a  new  chief  in  the  per- 
son of  this  Grand  Duke,  an  announcement  which 
was  received  with  loud  cheering.  The  little  fellow 
was  honorary  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  infantry,  of 
another  of  cavalry,  and  of  a  battery  of  artillery,  be- 
fore he  was  a  dozen  hours  old.  Two  weeks  later  he 
was  christened  in  the  chapel  of  the  Winter  Palace. 
A  large  crowd  gathered  in  the  street  to  see  him  go 
past  on  his  way  from  his  father's  to  his  grandfather's 
palace.  He  rode  in  the  arms  of  his  godmother,  in 
a  gilded  coach,  drawn  by  six  white  horses,  with  pos- 
tilions; behind  him  was  a  similar  coach  containing 
the  Grand  Chamberlain  and  his  godfather.  In  front 
and  behind  the  coaches  rode  a  platoon  of  Cossacks. 
At  the  palace,  besides  the  Emperor  and  other  mem- 
bers of  the  imperial  family,  there  were  the  diplo- 
matic corps,  "the  chamberlains  and  ministers,  the 
first  and  second  charges  of  the  court,"  various  other 
personages,  and  finally,  "  all  those  having  the  right 
to  appear  at  court."  The  detailed  programme  of 
the  form  of  proceedings,  issued  by  the  grand  master 
of  ceremonies,  covered  five  columns  of  the  ofificial 
newspaper.  Every  one  was  in  full  dress — the  men  in 
military  or  civil  uniform,  and  the  ladies  in  the  Rus- 


St.  Petersburg.  223 

sian  court  dress.  This  costume  is  very  peculiar  and 
striking  in  effect ;  the  front  of  the  dress  is  of  cloth 
of  gold,  the  back  and  train  of  red  or  blue  velvet, 
and  on  the  head  is  worn  a  sort  of  diadem  {kokosJinik) 
of  the  same  color  as  the  dress,  and  studded  with 
precious  stones. 

In  the  chapel  the  male  members  of  the  imperial 
family  stood  next  the  chancel-rail  on  one  side,  and 
the  female  members  on  the  other.  Next  to  them 
came  the  members  of  the  diplomatic  corps  and 
their  wives,  then  the  gentlemen  of  the  body-guard 
and  the  principal  dignitaries  of  the  crown,  and  be- 
hind them,  extending  out  into  the  adjoining  grand 
hall,  were  the  other  persons  present — about  a  thou- 
sand in  all.  The  child  was  brought  in  on  a  handsome 
embroidered  pillow,  borne  by  Princess  Kourakin,  his 
godmother.  On  either  side  of  her  walked  the  god- 
fathers, Prince  Suwarof  and  Count  Kotzebue.  The 
service  was  chanted  in  the  usual  form,  but  by  the 
almost  unrivaled  voices  of  the  Emperor's  choir; 
then  the  child  was  christened  by  immersion  by  the 
priest ;  he  howled  and  struggled  with  fine  spirit,  and 
was  then  taken  out,  wrapped  up  in  some  rich  cloths 
and  handed  to  the  Emperor,  who  walked  three  times 
round  the  altar  with  the  child  in  his  arms.  The 
exact  significance  of  this  I  did  not  learn,  but  it  was 
a  pretty  family  scene  to  sec  the  little  fellow  still 
shouting  and  kicking,  every  one  present  laughing  at 


224  -.Iriiiy  Life  in  Russia. 

it,  and  the  Emperor  smiling  benignantly,  after  the 
manner  of  grandfathers  on  such  occasions. 

After  this,  the  Httle  Grand  Duke  was  handed  to 
his  nurse,  the  various  members  of  the  imperial  family- 
kissed  each  other  in  congratulation,  and  then  passed 
out,  terminating  the  ceremony. 

The  anniversaries  of  great  battles  are  celebrated 
by  the  troops  attending  divine  service  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  having  a  dinner  and  an  extra  allowance  of 
grog  in  the  afternoon.  On  the  occasion  of  the  first 
anniversary  of  the  fall  of  Plevna,  the  Grand  Duke 
Nicholas  gave  a  dinner  at  his  palace  near  the  bridge 
named  after  his  father.  The  Emperor  and  all  the 
members  of  the  imperial  family  then  in  town  were 
present,  as  well  as  about  two  hundred  officers  who 
had  been  present  at  Plevna.  This  palace  is  remark- 
able for  the  beautiful  broad  marble  stairway  which 
rises  in  a  straight  line  from  the  entrance  to  the 
third  story,  but  there  is  nothing  unusual  in  the 
large  dining-room,  nor  in  the  table  service.  The 
dinner  was  a  purely  Russian  one,  made  to  suit  the 
Russian  palate,  and  certainly  unacceptable  to  any 
other.  As  an  instance  of  Russian  taste,  I  give  the 
vidnii.  First  came  the  zakiiska,  or  appetizers,  at  a 
side  table:  caviare,  a  dozen  varieties  of  native  and 
foreign  whiskies,  brandies  and  cordials,  including 
one  bottle  marked  "  American  Cocktails  ;  "  as  many 
varieties  of  cheese,  of  little  fishes  like  sardines,  of 


"  ^"^shurg,  225 

pate  de  foie  gras,  etc.  After  we  were  seated  at 
table,  the  first  dish  was  a  soup  of  cabbage  with  a 
peculiar  white  sauce  of  sour  cream  which  was 
mixed  in  it  according  to  each  person's  taste.  With 
this  was  served  Chateau  Yquem.  Next  came  a  filet 
of  beef  with  mushrooms,  served  with  red  wine. 
After  the  filet  came  the  fish,  which  was  a  work  of 
art ;  it  was  a  gigantic  sturgeon,  weighing  over 
ninety  pounds,  and  about  five  feet  in  length  ;  this 
had  been  cut  into  small  pieces  and  then  carefully- 
put  together  again,  so  that  the  lines  of  division 
were  only  visible  when  you  came  to  help  yourself ; 
it  was  gayly  decorated  with  flags,  etc.,  and  was 
brought  in  on  a  silver  platter  borne  by  six  men. 
The  sturgeon  was  followed  by  \\iQ.  piece  de  resistance 
of  the  dinner,  which  was  a  sucking  pig,  stuffed  witli 
the  kahsha  or  buckwheat  gruel,  to  which  I  have  fre- 
quently referred  as  the  staple  article  of  food  of  the 
peasants.  With  this  was  served  your  choice  of 
champagne,  or  the  Russian  sour  beer  called  kvass. 
Next  came  a  Roman  punch,  and  after  this  there  was 
game,  some  ducks  and  grouse  with  cucumber  salad, 
served  with  the  red  wine  of  the  Crimea  ;  then  some 
sort  of  pudding,  sweetmeats,  coffee,  and  cigarettes. 

The  health  of  the  Emperor  was  drunk,  as  usual,  on 
the  simple  announcement,  "  Za  zdarova  Gosiirdara 
Imperatora,  hourrah  !  "   (To  the   health  of  our  lord 

the  Emperor,  hurrah!)  the  hurrah  being  taken  up 
10* 


226  ^Irifij  Life  in  Russia. 

vociferously  and  long  continued  by  all  present,  and 
every  one  standing.  The  health  of  the  Cesarevitch 
and  of  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  were  also  drunk, 
but  of  no  one  else  ;  and  there  was  no  speech-mak- 
ing, except  by  the  Emperor,  who  said  a  few  words 
as  he  proposed  each  of  the  latter  toasts.  At  a  pre- 
vious dinner  of  the  same  kind,  at  which  the  Em- 
peror was  not  present  (being  in  the  Crimea),  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  speech-making  accompanying 
the  toasts. 

The  dinner,  which  began  at  six,  was  over  at  eight 
o'clock,  and  nearly  every  one  present  then  went  to 
the  opera  or  to  the  circus ;  the  latter  is  admirably 
conducted  in  a  large  iron  tent,  and  is  very  popular 
with  the  younger  cavalry  ofificers.  After  the  circus  I 
accepted  an  invitation  to  one  of  the  regimental 
clubs. 

The  two  regiments  of  the  Emperor's  body-guard, 
one  of  which  is  called  the  Chevalier  Garde  and  the 
other  the  Garde  a  cJieval,  are  the  most  aristocratic 
organizations  of  any  kind  in  Russia.  Appointments 
of  cornets  in  them  are  made  only  with  the  consent 
of  the  regiment  and  with  the  personal  knowledge 
and  approval  of  the  Emperor  in  each  case.  The 
ofificers  are  all  "  gentlemen  of  the  guard,"  and  are 
present  at  all  court  ceremonies.  Each  of  these 
regiments  is  quartered  in  a  very  desirable  part  of  the 
town,  their  barracks,  stables,  riding    hall,  etc.,  oc- 


St.  Petersburg.  227 

cupying  an  entire  square  about  one  thousand  feet 
lone  and  four  hundred  feet  wide.  Each  num- 
bers  about  forty  officers  and  six  hundred  men, 
the  men  being  all  selected,  and  over  six  feet  in 
height.  They  are  cuirassier  regiments,  and  their 
horses  are  chosen,  with  no  little  difficulty,  to  com- 
bine grace  with  the  strength  necessary  to  carry 
about  three  hundred  pounds.  One  regiment  has  all 
black,  the  other  all  bay  horses.  Every  officer  has 
from  three  to  six  private  saddle-horses — English  tho- 
roughbreds, Russian  Arabs,  Cossack  cross-breds, 
and  other  varieties  of  blooded  animals,  ranging  in 
value  from  one  to  three  thousand  dollars  apiece. 
The  cost  to  the  crown  of  one  of  these  regiments  is 
enormous — about  equal  to  that  of  a  division  of  ten 
thousand  men  of  the  infantry  of  the  line — yet  they 
have  been  called  into  active  service  only  twice  in 
this  century ;  viz.,  in  the  wars  against  Napoleon  and 
in  the  Polish  Insurrection  of  1863.  Every  one  of 
the  officers,  however,  who  could  obtain  leave  saw 
service  in  the  last  war  as  an  aid-de-camp,  or  a  vol- 
unteer in  some  other  regiment. 

Their  barracks  contain  handsome  suites  of  apart- 
ments for  about  half  the  officers,  that  number  be- 
ing supposed  to  be  married  ;  the  junior  unmarried 
officers  have  also  two  or  three  rooms  apiece, 
though  not  so  large  or  handsome  as  the  others. 
Each  regiment  has  also  a  large  and  well-appointed 


228  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

club-house,  adjoining  the  barracks,  maintained  by 
the  officers.  This  contains  the  usual  reading-rooms, 
a  good  library,  billiard-rooms,  card-rooms,  and  res- 
taurant. A  supper  is  spread  each  night  at  mid- 
night, in  readiness  for  the  officers  as  they  come 
home  from  the  theater. 

The  regimental  clubs  are  so  numerous  and  well 
appointed  that  there  are  but  two  other  clubs  in 
town,  the  club  of  the  nobility  and  the  yacht  club, 
neither  of  which  is  equal  to  the  clubs  of  the  crack 
regiments. 

The  nobility  of  Russia  is  hospitable  and  open- 
handed  to  the  last  degree,  but  it  is  equally  extrava- 
gant. A  young  man,  as  they  say  themselves,  is 
considered  enormously  rich  if  he  merely  lives  within 
his  income,  and  keeps  out  of  debt.  While  there  is 
no  more  card-playing  at  the  clubs  than  is  common 
in  other  capitals,  yet  the  play  is  for  enormous 
stakes,  frequently  out  of  all  comparison  to  the  re- 
sources of  the  players.  They  are  usually  in  the 
habit  of  leaving  the  entire  management  of  their 
estates  to  their  ifitcndajiis,  or  stewards,  and  visit- 
ing them  only  for  short  periods  once  a  year.  The 
stewards  are  none  too  honest,  as  their  masters  well- 
know,  but  the  latter  arc  averse  to  bothering  them- 
selves with  the  details  of  management,  and  let  the 
steward  steal  a  fair  percentage  so  long  as  he  re- 
mits regular  installments  of  the  income.     This  care- 


St.  Petersburg.  229 

lessness,  combined  with  extravagant  living,  has  its 
natural  result  in  the  financial  crash  of  several  fam- 
ilies every  year.  The  young  men  then  sell  out 
their  household  valuables  and  go  off  to  the  Cau- 
casus and  Central  Asia,  to  win  distinction  in  active 
service,  and  promotion  to  a  grade  whose  pay  is 
enough  for  their  support.  There  is  in  a  certain 
portion  of  St.  Petersburg  an  immense  bazar  of  the 
pure  oriental  type,  known  as  the  SJitukin  Dvor, 
where,  as  in  the  other  bazars,  you  can  buy  every- 
thing that  is  sold  in  commerce,  but  where  also  there 
are  over  a  dozen  large  and  well-known  shops  de- 
voted exclusively  to  the  purchase  and  sale  of  the 
ddbris  of  the  establishments  of  the  bankrupt  nobil- 
ity. Here  you  will  find  the  rarest  and  most  valu- 
able pieces  of  furniture,  of  china,  of  jewelry,  and  of 
laces.  It  is  as  interesting  to  go  through  one  of 
these  shops  as  to  spend  an  afternoon  in  a  well 
stocked  museum  of  art  —  which,  in  fact,  they  are 
Those  Russians  whose  crash  has  not  yet  come,  or 
whose  fortune  is  so  large  as  to  preclude  the  possi- 
bility of  it,  arc  very  fond  of  good  bric-a-brac,  and 
have  excellent  taste  in  it.  They  periodically  visit 
these  shops  to  pick  up  some  rare  objct  dc  luxe  on  de 
vertu  ;  they  ask  the  shopkeeper  if  he  has  anything 
new,  and  he  answers  that  he  has  just  received  the 
remains  of  the  entire  establishment  of  Count  this  or 
Prince  that.     "  Ah  !   yes,    poor  Count  so-and-so,  le 


230  xlrinj  Life  in  Russia. 

ban  gar^on  !  Let  mc  sec  his  things."  And  then 
they  proceed  to  search  for  some  bronze  or  vase 
"which  they  have  long  admired,  and  which  they  are 
so  glad  to  secure  for  their  own  possession. 

Whenever  a  number  of  Russian  ofificers  are  seen 
in  full  dress,  one  is  dazzled  by  the  number  of  stars, 
decorations,  and  medals  which  cover  their  breasts. 
Some  of  these  are  of  no  value  whatever,  and  others 
are  records  of  the  most  signal  feats  in  arms  or  state 
service,  and  confer  great  privileges.  There  are  in 
Russia  seven  orders  of  knighthood  for  men  and  one 
for  women.  Three  of  these  have  but  one  class  or  de- 
gree, and  are  given  only  to  persons  of  a  certain  grade 
in  the  "  Tchin  "  or  hierarchy,  and  the  other  four  have 
various  classes  for  various  grades.  The  order  of  St. 
Andrew,  founded  by  Peter  the  Great  at  the  close  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  is  conferred  upon  all 
princes  of  the  imperial  family  at  their  birth,  but  is 
otherwise  bestowed  on  only  the  highest  dignitaries, 
such  as  chancellors,  ambassadors,  and  full  generals. 
Its  insignia  consist  of  a  long  collar  of  Russian 
double-headed  eagles  stamped  in  gold,  which  is 
worn  around  the  shoulders.  Next  to  this  comes 
the  order  of  St.  Alexander  Nevsky,  also  founded  by 
Peter,  whose  insignia  are  a  broad  blue  cordon,  worn 
over  the  shoulder,  and  a  star  on  the  breast.  Its  be- 
stowal is  confined  to  the  first  three  grades  in  the 
Tchin.     The  remaining   order  of   this   kind    is  the 


Sf.  Petersburg. 


i3- 


White  Eagle,  which  was  founded  by  a  Polish  king 
in  the  fourteenth  century.  It  is  not  much  esteem- 
ed, and  is  usually  conferred  on  seme  general  who 
has  done  his  duty  in  a  battle  but  has  not  achieved 
success.  Its  insignia  consist  of  a  decoration  worn 
at  the  neck. 

The  four  remaining  orders  are  the  St.  George  and 
St.  Vladimir,  founded  by  Catherine,  and  both  high- 
ly esteemed  ;  the  St.  Anne,  founded  by  Charles  Fred- 
erick of  Schleswig-Holstein,  and  the  St.  Stanislaus, 
founded  by  King  Stanislaus  of  Poland. 

The  St.  George  is  a  purely  military  order,  and  is 
the  most  highly  prized  of  all  the  Russian  decora- 
tions. Any  Russian  will  risk  his  life  to  obtain  its 
little  cross  of  white  enamel  and  the  ribbon  of  black 
and  yellow,  and  no  one  ever  does  get  it  without  his 
life  having  been  in  the  greatest  danger.  It  has  four 
classes,  each  of  which  is  bestowed  only  for  certain 
services  specified  in  the  statute  with  great  minute- 
ness. The  name  of  every  knight  of  the  order  and 
the  date  of  his  knighthood  are  inscribed  in  gold  on 
white  marble  columns  in  the  hall  of  St.  George  at 
the  Kremlin  palace  in  Moscow.  The  first  class  is  be- 
stowed only  upon  commanding  generals  who,  while 
in  command  of  an  army,  have  achieved  some  great 
feat,  such  as  the  capture  or  signal  defeat  of  a  hostile 
army.  There  have  been  but  twenty-two  knights 
of    the    first    class    since    the   order  was    founded. 


232  Anjij'  Life  ill  Russia. 


and  their  names  all  occupy  a  prominent  place 
on  the  page  of  history.  Among  them  are  Potcm- 
kin,  Suwarof,  Kutusoff,  Barclay  de  Tolly,  Berna- 
dottc,  Bluchcr,  Wellington,  Paskcvitch,  Diebitch, 
and  the  Emperor  William  of  Germany.  It  was  con- 
ferred during  the  last  war  only  on  the  two  com- 
manders-in-chief in  Europe  and  Asia  respectively — 
one  on  the  fall  of  Plevna  and  the  other  on  the  fall 
of  Kars. 

The  second  class  is  conferred  on  chiefs  of  staff  or 
commanders  of  large  fractions  of  an  army  which 
gain  an  important  battle.  Von  Moltke,  the  Crown 
Prince  of  Germany,  and  Prince  Frederick  Charles 
are  knights  of  this  class  ;  and  in  the  last  war  but 
eight  were  created,  among  them,  Loris-Melikoff, 
Todleben,  and  Radetsky. 

The  third  class  is  conferred  upon  generals  having 
command  of  a  corps  or  an  independent  detachment, 
who  either  capture  a  fortress,  a  considerable  detach- 
ment of  the  enemy,  or  contribute  in  a  vital  degree 
to  a  victory.  Thirty-seven  of  these  were  conferred  ■ 
in  the  last  war;  Gourko,  for  instance,  receiving  it 
for  the  first  passage  of  the  Balkans,  Krudener  for 
the  capture  of  Nikopolis,  etc. 

The  fourth  class  is  conferred  upon  a  commanding 
officer  or  chief  of  staff  for  valuable  service  in  battle, 
or  upon  an  officer  of  any  grade  for  extraordinary 
heroism  ;  thus  it  was  bestowed  on  the  two  lieuten- 


Sf.  Petersburg.  233 

ants  who  blew  up  the  Turkish  monitor  Se-ife  on  the 
Danube  by  means  of  torpedoes  from  an  open  boat. 
Two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  in  all  of  this  class 
were  conferred  in  the  last  war. 

Every  cross  of  this  order  is  received,  therefore, 
only  as  a  reward  for  some  act  of  conspicuous  gal- 
lantry or  distinguished  service  in  battle.  It  is  not 
bestowed  Jay  the  Emperor  directly,  but  only  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  unanimous  recommendation  of  a 
chapter  of  the  order,  stating  the  service  in  detail 
and  the  clause  in  the  statute  which  authorizes  it. 
It  confers  all  the  rights  of  hereditary  nobility  upon 
every  knight,  in  addition  to  a  specific  pension  and 
certain  other  privileges,  such  as  that  of  having  his 
children  educated  at  the  expense  of  the  state  in 
any  of  the  military  schools. 

The  order  of  St.  Vladimir,  which  ranks  next  to 
that  of  St.  George,  is  conferred  for  both  civil  and 
military  services.  Its  cross  is  of  brown  enamel, 
and  has  crossed  sabers  on  it  when  given  for  service 
in  battle ;  the  ribbon  is  black  and  red.  It  has  four 
classes,  the  insignia  of  the  first  being  the  cordon  and 
star;  of  the  second  and  third,  crosses  of  different  size 
worn  at  the  neck;  and  of  the  fourth,  a  smaller  cross 
worn  on  the  breast.  The  classes,  however,  arc  dis- 
tinguished, not  by  the  nature  of  the  service,  but  by 
the  grade  of  the  person  on  whom  conferred  ;  the  first 
and  second  for  generals,  the  third  for  field  officers, 


234  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

and  the  fourth  for  company  officers.  The  order  is 
conferred  directly  by  the  Emperor  on  the  recom- 
mendation or  "  presentation  "  of  the  recipient's  ser- 
vices by  his  commanding  officers. 

The  orders  of  St.  Anne  and  St.  Stanislaus  are  the 
lowest  of  all.  They  are  of  three  classes,  according 
to  the  rank  of  the  recipient  when  received,  and  are 
conferred  for  gallantry,  but  also  as  favors»at  autumn 
manoeuvers,  for  several  years'  good  service,  etc.  Not 
much  consideration  is  attached  to  them. 

In  addition  to  these  orders  and  their  classes, 
every  campaign  against  the  enemy,  whether  a  great 
war  like  that  in  Turkey,  or  a  small  expedition  in 
Central  Asia,  has  its  own  medal,  which  is  worn  alike 
by  every  officer  and  soldier  who  took  honorable 
part  in  it.  In  full  dress  an  officer  wears  all  his 
decorations,  in  undress  only  the  one  which  is  high- 
est ;  but  the  possessor  of  the  St.  George  wears  it  on 
his  coat  and  the  ribbon  on  his  overcoat  on  every 
and  all  occasions. 

As  an  officer  of  fifteen  or  twenty  years*  experience 
is  sure  to  have  received  a  few  of  the  minor  crosses 
for  faithful  service,  as  he  invariably  receives  one  or 
two  foreign  decorations  when  sent  abroad  on  a  mil- 
itary mission,  and  as  he  has  a  medal  for  every  cam- 
paign, and  probably  one  or  two  decorations  received 
during  it  in  addition,  it  is  evident  that  when  he  has 
seen   active   and   varied    service,  and  attained   the 


S/.  Petersburg.  235 

grade  of  colonel  or  general,  he  has  a  good  many 
decorations  ;  and  if  in  addition  he  has  specially  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  gallantry,  he  has  hardly  room 
on  his  coat  for  all  of  them.  Some  officers  of  dis- 
tinction who  have  passed  through  four  or  five  cam- 
paigns, and  have  served  forty  years  or  more,  have 
as  many  as  twenty  or  thirty  various  crosses  and 
medals. 

The  higher  classes  of  the  order  of  St.  George  cor- 
respond to  the  thanks  of  Congress  or  the  presenta- 
tion of  a  sword  by  that  body ;  the  other  orders  cor- 
respond to  brevets.  They  have  precisely  the  same 
value  as  brevets,  some  of  them  being  the  records  of 
great  deeds,  and  others  the  record  of  nothing  but 
favor  and  influence,  like  so  many  of  the  two  thou- 
sand or  more  brevets  dating  from  the  bloody  13th  of 
March,  1865.  With  us  the  reward  is  a  title  higher 
than  that  of  the  actual  rank ;  with  the  Russians  it  is 
a  bit  of  ribbon  and  jewelry  on  the  breast. 

The  "  Tchin  "  or  hierarchy,  to  which  I  have  just 
referred,  is  one  of  the  most  peculiar  institutions  of 
Russia.  All  the  servants  of  the  government,  includ- 
ing those  of  the  church,  have  a  relative  rank  by 
which  their  social,  and,  in  a  certain  sense  also,  their 
political  status,  is  absolutely  fixed.  There  arc  four- 
teen grades  in  this  "  Tchin."  The  first  or  most  ex- 
alted grade  comprises  only  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Empire,    a   field-marshal    in    the    army,    the    Lord 


236  Armj'  Life  in  Russia. 

High  Admiral  of  the  navy,  and  a  metropolitan  in 
the  church.  The  second  grade  comprises  an  ac- 
tual privy  councillor  in  the  civil  service,  a  full 
general  in  the  arm}',  a  full  admiral  in  the  navy,  a 
grand  chamberlain  at  the  court,  and  an  arch- 
bishop in  the  church.  The  next  grade  comprises 
a  privy  councillor,  a  lieutenant-general,  a  vice-ad- 
miral, a  chamberlain,  a  bishop.  Next  come  actual 
state  councillors,  major-generals,  rear  admirals, 
and  archimandrites,  and  so  on  through  the  various 
classes.  The  ninth  grade,  for  instance,  is  that  of 
titular  councillor,  captain  in  the  army,  lieuten- 
ant in  the  navy,  grand  furrier  at  court,  surveyor 
in  the  Public  Works  Department,  master  of  arts  of 
a  university,  and  deacon  in  the  church. 

There  are  four  distinct  titles  for  the  various 
grades,  by  which  they  are  always  addressed  by  their 
inferiors.  The  highest  two  are  called  "  High  Ex- 
cellency; "  the  next  two,  "Excellency;"  the  next 
four,  "  High  Nobility ;  "  and  the  remaining  five, 
"  Nobility."  These  titles  do  not  apply  to  princes 
and  counts.  A  prince  of  the  Empire  is  always  ad- 
dressed as  "  Most  Serene  Highness,"  and  a  count  as 
"  Illustriousness,"  no  matter  what  his  position. 

All  the  servants  of  the  crown  above  a  certain  grade 
belong  ex-ofificio  to  the  nobility,  and  for  those  of  the 
sixth  class  (colonel)  and  above  in  the  army,  and  fourth 
class  and  above  in  the  civil  service,  the  nobility  is 


5/.  Petersburg.  237 

hereditar)^  By  this  it  is  not  meant  that  they  are 
noblemen,  such  as  barons,  marquises,  and  dukes, 
but  simply  that  they  belong  to  the  noblesse,  or  noble 
class.  The  "■  Zemstvo^'  i.  e.,  the  form  of  local  self- 
government  instituted  by  the  present  Emperor  in 
1864,  whose  duties  are  similar  to  those  of  our 
county  commissioners,  is  composed  of  deputies 
elected  in  certain  proportions  by  the  landed  pro- 
prietors, the  municipal  corporations,  and  the  village 
communes  or  "  Mirs''  The  landed  proprietors  are 
the  noblesse,  and  they  have  certain  privileges  be- 
sides that  of  electing  deputies  in  more  than  their 
numerical  proportion.  To  belong  to  the  nobility,  is 
simply  to  be  one  of  this  class  of  landed  proprietors, 
and  to  have  all  its  rights  and  privileges.  The  class 
is  very  large,  being  estimated,  I  think,  to  number 
about  nine  hundred  thousand  persons,  or  more  than 
one  per  cent,  of  the  whole  population.  The  word 
nobility,  in  its  ordinary  acceptation  as  we  derive  it 
from  the  English  customs,  is  evidently  misleading  ; 
there  are  vast  numbers  of  the  nobility  who  have 
neither  wealth  nor  social  position,  and  who  are 
never  admitted  to  court ;  but  the  social  customs  of 
Russia  being  so  different  from  those  of  other 
countries,  there  is  no  English  word  which  correctly 
expresses  the  Russian  meaning  of  tiie  term  noblesse 
{dvorianstvo). 

The  military  class  in  St.  Petersburg  is  the  princi- 


238  Army  Life  hi  Russia. 

pal  clement  in  society;  and  society,  as  in  all  great 
capitals,  is  largely  occupied  with  a  gay  life  of 
pleasure.  Those  who  criticise  the  Russians,  and 
most  of  all  the  Russian  critics  themselves  (par- 
ticularly those  of  German  origin),  are  never  tired  of 
expatiating  upon  the  Russian  lieni  or  idleness — 
"  the  genuine  Slav  love  of  indolence  and  pleasure." 

This  criticism  seems  to  me  to  be  unfounded. 
While  the  Russians  have  not  much  of  that  plodding 
character  peculiar  to  the  Germans,  and  are  fond  of 
pleasure  when  not  urged  to  work,  yet  whenever 
there  has  been  any  necessity  for  long-continued 
and  patient  labor,  the  Tsar,  the  noble,  and  the 
peasant  have  proved  themselves  equally  unremit- 
ting and  faithful  to  their  respective  tasks. 

But  there  is  in  the  Russian  character  a  certain 
volatile  element  which  partially  justifies  Bismarck's 
criticism — as  reported  by  Dr.  Busch — that  the  Rus- 
sians, like  the  French,  are  essentially  feminine  in 
character.  They  are  very  fond  of  criticism  and  of 
abstract  discussions,  and  their  criticism  is  frequently 
of  the  most  illogical,  not  to  say  hysterical,  order. 
It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  there  is  no  public 
opinion  in  Russia ;  there  is  at  all  times  a  very 
strong  public  opinion,  though  it  is  very  variable ;  it 
finds  its  expression  in  the  press  until  checked  by 
the  warnings  of  the  censorship  bureau,  when  it  be- 
comes all  the  more  violent   in  private  conversation 


SL  Petersburg.  239 

from  its  attempted  repression  in  public.  This  pub- 
lic opinion  is  also  far  from  being  without  influence  ; 
the  late  war,  for  instance,  was  almost  wholly  due 
to  it. 

The  course  of  public  opinion  in  the  various  stages 
of  this  war  illustrates  this  femininity  of  character 
very  forcibly.  The  declaration  of  war  against  the 
Turks  was  received  with  the  liveliest  pleasure  by 
the  whole  Russian  nation  ;  whether  or  not  the  Em- 
peror was  personally  opposed  to  the  war,  and  only 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Moscow  "  national " 
movement  because  he  could  not  stay  it — as  certain 
English  papers  have  always  represented — there  are 
no  data  for  stating ;  the  Emperor's  personal  opin- 
ions are  not  so  publicly  stated  as  some  correspond- 
ents would  have  us  believe.  But  there  is  no  ques- 
tion whatever  that  his  celebrated  Moscow  speech 
in  the  spring  of  1877,  in  which  he  declared  his  in- 
tention to  act  independently  in  case  he  could  not 
obtain  justice  for  the  Christians  in  Turkey  by 
means  of  the  European  concert,  was  hailed  by  Rus- 
sians of  every  shade  of  opinion  as  the  embodiment 
of  their  own  feelings,  and  that  the  declaration  of 
war  was  extremely  popular  with  all  classes.  It  is 
equally  true  that  the  public  at  large  had  very  little 
idea  of  what  war  meant,  or  of  the  caliber  and  re- 
sources of  their  adversary,  even  unaided.  They 
talked  glibly  of  a  military  promenade  to  ConstaViti- 


240  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

noplo,  of  *'  the  mission  of  Holy  Russia,"  and  of 
"  the  regeneration  of  all  Slavonic  races  ;  "  they  dic- 
tated the  appointment  of  Prince  Tcherkasski,  one 
of  the  chiefs  of  the  "  national  "  party,  as  Civil  High 
Commissioner,  and  provided  him  with  a  complete  set 
of  civil  officials  to  govern  the  provinces  of  Bulgaria 
as  they  should  be  successively  liberated,  at  the  same 
time  that  they  insisted  that  two  hundred  thousand 
men  were  enough  to  complete  the  war  succesfully 
in  a  few  months.  Boundless  confidence  and  en- 
thusiasm were  the  order  of  the  day. 

After  the  war  had  begun  there  was  some  impa- 
tience at  the  delay  in  crossing  the  Danube,  but  this 
was  soon  forgotten  in  the  brilliant  success  of  the 
passage  of  the  river,  and  in  Gourko's  daring  advance 
over  the  Balkans.  Then  came  the  first  check  at 
Plevna,  followed  ten  days  later  by  a  bloody  repulse 
at  the  same  place.  Gourko  was  forced  to  retreat 
behind  the  Balkans,  the  Bulgarian  refugees  were 
abandoned  to  the  fury  of  the  Turks,  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  additional  men  were  ordered 
to  be  mobilized  and  sent  at  once  to  the  front,  and 
the  first  ban  of  the  militia  was  called  out  for  service 
at  the  depots.  The  Turks,  it  seemed,  were  an  enemy 
not  to  be  despised. 

The  mercury  of  public  opinion  now  fell  in  a  day 
from  the  boiling  point  to  far  below  zero.  The 
papers  advanced  charges  against  the  army  far  ex- 


St.  Petersburg.  241 

ceeding  in  virulence  anything  that  had  ever  ap- 
peared in  the  English  prints.  The  generals  were 
incompetent,  the  whole  commissariat  system  was  a 
mass  of  stupidity  and  corruption,  the  chief  of  staff 
and  his  principal  assistant  were  traitorous  Polos  en- 
gaged in  a  conspiracy  to  destroy  the  army ;  the 
Cesarevitch  had  openly  shown  his  contempt  for  his 
uncle,  the  Commander-in-Chief,  who  was  absolutely 
devoid  of  military  capacity  or  even  physical  cour- 
age ;  the  Emperor  was  represented  as  having  lost 
all  dignity  by  the  compromised  position  he  occu- 
pied in  the  army  ;  Gortchakoff  and  Jomini  were  elabo- 
rating a  new  system  of  constitutional  government, 
and  national  bankruptcy  was  the  inevitable  result 
of  the  war.  While  the  people  in  Moscow  proclaim- 
ed that  the  war  must  go  on  at  all  hazards — "  The 
dynasty  began  the  war,  but  the  nation  alone  can 
and  will  terminate  it  " — they  at  the  same  time  were 
unsparing  in  their  criticisms  of  the  government  for 
having  called  out  re-enforcements  at  once,  instead  of 
waiting  till  four  weeks  later,  when  "  the  crops 
would  all  be  in !  "  Every  college  student  was  a 
strategist,  who  could  tell  you  exactly  just  what 
principle  of  war  had  been  violated,  and  tiius  brought 
disaster  on  the  Russian  arms ;  and  the  national 
party  actually  proposed  that  the  whole  system  of 
supply    for    the  army  should    be  turned    over  to  a 

committee  of  provincial  organizations  in  Southern 
II 


242  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

Russia.  In  short,  it  was  the  genuine  Gallic  cry, 
**  A'of/s  soj/uiics  tra/iis,'"  all  over  again. 

This  spirit  of  pessimism  (from  which  even  Anglo- 
Saxons  arc  not  altogether  exempt,  as  was  shown  in 
the  Crimean  war)  became  so  widespread  and  deep- 
seated  by  the  long  delay  at  Plevna,  that  the  bril- 
liant successes  of  the  winter  hardly  sufficed  to 
dissipate  it.  There  was  more  or  less  a  feverish  ex- 
ultation at  the  final  capture  of  IMcona  and  the  de- 
struction of  the  remaining  Turkish  armies  within  a 
few  weeks  afterward,  but  every  one's  mind  was 
now  occupied  with  expectancy  concerning  the  terms 
of  peace.  On  this  question  they  took  very  high 
ground  indeed,  and  those  who  a  few  weeks  before 
had  predicted  bankruptcy  if  the  war  should  con- 
tinue against  Turkey  alone,  now  demanded  such  a 
treaty  as  would  unquestionably  have  brought  them 
to  war  with  the  whole  of  Western  Europe.  They 
cared  nothing  for  the  wishes  of  Europe,  but  de- 
manded that  the  "  inmost  aspirations  of  the  Slavonic 
people"  should  be  satisfied. 

The  treaty  of  San  Stefano  was  finally  concluded, 
mainly  on  the  basis  of  the  terms  which  had  been 
proposed  to  Turkey  by  Europe  collectively  at  the 
Constantinople  conference  of  1876.  From  one  end 
of  the  land  to  the  other  there  went  up  a  howl  of 
anger  that  Russia  should  have  proposed  any  such 
moderate  treaty,  though,  except  that  they  desired 


St.  Petcrsbiirsr. 


£>• 


243 


an  occupation  of  Constantinople,  their  criticism 
never  indicated  distinctly  what  they  would  have 
proposed.  A  few  weeks  later  it  was  seen  that 
Europe  would  not  accept  even  this  treaty,  which 
the  advanced  Russians  considered  too  moderate. 
They  were  at  first  bewildered  and  stunned  by  this 
idea,  which  seemed  never  to  have  occurred  to  them  ; 
but  when,  in  the  beginning  of  June,  Russia  decided 
to  go  into  the  Berlin  Congress,  they  were  fairly  be- 
side themselves  with  rage.  Ivan  Aksakoff,  the 
President  of  the  Slav  Committee  and  one  of  the 
principal  mouth-pieces  of  the  national  party,  held 
forth  in  such  language  as  the  following :  "  Thou  vic- 
torious Power,  and  yet  so  befooled  !  In  the  face 
of  such  folly  in  the  diplomatic  heads  of  Russia,  in 
the  face  of  bucli  grandiose  attempts  to  temporize, 
the  power  of  language  ceases,  and  thoughts  can 
find  no  utterance.  Even  the  most  malevolent 
enemy  of  Russia  and  her  dynasty  could  not  have 
invented  anything  more  destructive  to  her  internal 
peace  and  tranquillity.  There  you  see  the  true 
nihilists — the  men  for  whom  there  exists  neither 
a  Russia  nor  Russian  tradition,  no  Russian  nation- 
ality, no  orthodox  church.  .  .  .  No — what- 
ever may  take  place  at  the  Congress,  however 
much  the  honor  of  Russia  may  be  degraded,  there 
yet  lives  our  crowned  protector,  and  he  will  be 
our     avenger.      .      .      .      Our    hopes    in    our   Tsar 


244  Ar7nj  Life  in  Russia. 

cannot  be  shipwrecked.  I  lis  word  has  gone  forth 
that  the  lioly  work  shall  be  carried  to  the  end, 
and  his  word  cannot  be  broken." 

I  have  referred  mainly  to  the  feelings  and  opin- 
ions of  the  national  or  Slavonic  [party ;  but  the 
opinions  of  all  classes  of  society  were  of  the  same 
nature,  and  only  slightly  moderated  in  tone.  The 
current  talk  in  St.  Petersburg  society  during  the 
six  months  succeeding  the  Berlin  treaty  was  of  the 
same  character  as  that  of  Aksakoff.  The  Tsar  and 
a  few  responsible  statesmen  at  the  head  of  affairs 
kept  their  heads  cool,  and  accepted  so  much  of  what 
was  forced  upon  them  by  Europe  as  was  inevitable ; 
but  society  in  general  completely  lost  its  head,  and 
in  the  general  confusion  of  ideas  and  senseless  criti- 
cism of  the  whole  course  of  the  war,  the  aggressive 
revolutionary  party  or  nihilists,  who  aim  at  the  de- 
struction of  all  the  present  forms  of  social  order, 
found  their  opportunity,  and  have  taken  advantage 
of  it  steadily  for  the  last  two  years. 

Nothing  could  explain  more  clearly  than  these 
few  sentences  of  Aksakoff,  the  irresponsible  and 
unpractical  nature  of  Russian  criticism  and  public 
opinion,  the  proneness  for  discussion  of  abstract 
rather  than  concrete  ideas,  and  the  feverish  alter- 
nations of  joy  and  despondency  into  which  they  are 
plunged  by  the  course  of  events.  Perhaps  it  can 
hardly  be  otherwise  so  long  as  the  nation  is  in  its 


SL  Petersburg.  245 

tutelage,  and  forced  to  be  always  critics,  and  never 
actors  responsible  for  putting  their  ideas  into  practi- 
cal effect ;  but  it  is  probable  that  it  is  also  largely 
due  to  inherent  traits  of  national  character. 

Much  has  been  written  concerning  the  differences 
of  opinion  between  the  Emperor  and  his  heir  on 
fundamental  questions  of  internal  as  well  as  foreign 
policy.  All  attempts  to  trace  these  rumors  to  any 
tangible  foundation  only  result  in  showing  that  it 
is  one  of  those  cases  where  the  wish  is  father  to  the 
thought.  The  Cesarevitch  is  intensely  popular  with 
all  classes,  the  nationals  of  Moscow  no  less  than  the 
cosmopolitan  nobility  of  St.  Petersburg;  he  has  giv- 
en some  evidences  of  hostility  to  the  "  foreign  "  pro- 
vinces of  the  Baltic  and  the  Vistula  ;  he  has  been  less 
effusive  than  his  father  in  his  affection  for  his  kins- 
men in  the  German  dynasty  ;  he  is  intensely  Russian 
in  feeling;  he  has  shown  a  decided  will  and  strong 
character  in  all  the  public  duties  that  have  been 
committed  to  him;  has  been,  up  to  the  present, 
strictly  pure  in  his  domestic  life  (which  is  not  the 
rule  in  his  family),  and  by  his  founding  the  volunteer 
fleet,  and  other  similar  acts,  has  given  rise  to  the 
idea  that  he  sympathizes  largely  with  the  aspirations 
of  the  national  party.  In  a  word,  while  his  father's 
uprightness  of  character,  and  the  really  great  deeds 
which  are  associated  with  his  name,  will  always  in- 
sure him  the  love  and  veneration  of  his  subjects,  yet 


246  Ar)ny  Life  in  Russia. 

there  is  a  vague,  ill-defined  feeling  that  he  has  in  a 
measure  out-lived  his  time,  while  his  son  is  consid- 
ered the  embodiment  of  the  Russian  spirit  of  to-day. 
Everyone  believes,  though  no  one  can  give  the  ex- 
act grounds  of  his  belief,  that  the  Cesarevitch  will 
signalize  his  accession  to  the  throne  by  a  reform 
hardly  less  great  than  the  abolition  of  serfdom,  viz, : 
by  granting  some  sort  of  constitution  or  charter  of 
rights,  of  which  the  principal  feature  will  be  a  na- 
tional elective  assembly.  The  longing  for  this  is 
shared  by  great  masses  of  people  who  have  nothing 
whatever  in  common  with  nihilism,  and  nothing  but 
abhorrence  of  its  methods  and  principles.  They 
care  but  little  as  to  the  share  which  this  assembly 
shall  have  in  practical  legislation.  Always  basing 
their  ideas  on  the  same  thought  as  that  of  the 
private  soldier,  "If  the  Tsar  only  knew,  all  would 
be  well,"  they  are  anxious  for  the  formation  of  a 
responsible  chamber,  through  which  the  Emperor 
may  know  what  his  subjects'  feelings  are,  and  what 
are  the  doings  of  his  government.  At  present,  al- 
though the  Tsar  moves  and  talks  freely  and  con- 
stantly among  all  the  grades  of  his  army,  yet  no 
other  class  of  his  people  can  have  access  to  him 
except  through  his  regularly  constituted  ministers. 
Every  bit  of  information  which  he  receives  must 
be  filtered  through  these,  and  it  only  too  frequently 
happens  that  the  unsavory  portions  never  pass  the 


Sf.  Petersburg.  247 

filters.  Could  the  Emperor  know  with  certainty  of 
the  abuses  which  are  perpetrated  in  his  name  by  the 
subordinate  officials  in  the  "Third  Section"  or  poH-- 
tical  poHce,  in  the  press  censorship,  in  the  collection 
of  taxes,  in  the  disbursement  of  public  moneys,  they 
feel  sure  that  these  abuses  would  quickly  cease. 
But  how  can  he  know  of  these  things,  they  argue, 
when  he  is  surrounded  at  all  hours  by  an  impene- 
trable veil  of  courtiers  and  ministers,  interested  in 
maintaining  the  present  order  of  things,  and  tempt- 
ed only  too  often  beyond  the  limit  of  human  resist- 
ance, knowing  that  their  acts  arc  secure  from  pub- 
licity? The  Emperor  Nicholas  spent  his  life  in 
attempting  to  stamp  out  the  corruption  of  his  pub- 
lic servants,  but  he  failed  utterly ;  and  when  his 
system  of  severity  crashed  to  pieces  during  the 
Crimean  war,  he  died  of  a  broken  heart.  People 
reason  that  no  one  man  can  do  any  better  than  he 
did,  unless  assisted  by  a  public  opinion  which  shall 
be  based  upon  responsible  utterances  and  proofs  of 
incontrovertible  fact  made  in  a  public  assembly. 

No  man  can  tell  what  will  be  the  result  of  the 
crisis  through  which  Russia  is  now  passing;  but  that 
the  crisis  is  a  profound  one  in  her  history,  it  would 
be  idle  to  deny.  Few  men,  indeed,  are  able  to  form 
a  clear  idea  of  the  depth  or  the  shallowness  of  the 
seething  ebullition  of  feeling  which  is  the  outcome 
of  the  liberal  reforms  and   vast  economic  changes  of 


248  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

the  present  reign,  of  the  rise  and  growth  of  na- 
tional and  Slavonic  aspirations,  and  of  the  events  of 
the  late  war. 

In  the  last  ten  years  we  have  had  three  great 
books — those  of  Dixon  and  Wallace,  and  the  long 
series  of  articles  by  Leroy-Beaulieu  in  the  Revue  des 
deux  Mondes — which  have  revealed  Russia  to  the 
western  world  as  she  has  never  before  been  re- 
vealed. All  three  have  dealt  mainly  with  the  results 
of  the  recent  changes  in  the  internal  government  of 
the  countiy.  Within  the  present  year  they  have 
been  aptly  supplemented  by  the  work  of  one  who 
is  either  a  Russian  of  the  Baltic  Provinces,  or  else 
some  one  who  faithfully  represents  the  feelings  of 
those  provinces.  In  "  Russia  Before  and  After  the 
War"  we  have  a  vivid  portrayal  of  the  current  of 
Russian  thought  in  the  last  few  years,  which  is  no 
less  clear  than  the  unconscious  exhibition  which  it 
makes  of  that  femininity  of  character  which  Bismarck 
speaks  of.  It  abounds  in  sweeping  and  confused 
criticism  of  precisely  the  same  kind  that  you  will 
hear  from  any  Russian  who  admits  you  to  his  confi- 
dence sufficiently  to  talk  of  the  affairs  of  his  own 
country.  Wallace  and  Lcroy-Beaulieu  gave  won- 
derfully plain  accounts  of  the  condition  of  Russia 
as  it  appears  to  a  foreigner.  The  anonymous  Ger- 
mano-Russian  reveals  the  confused  and  struggling 
current  of  thought  which   is  running  through  Rus- 


Sf.  Petersburg.  249 

sian  minds  at  this  moment.  What  will  be  the  out- 
come of  it,  it  would  be  idle  to  attempt  to  predict. 
Whether  another  French  revolution  is  impending ; 
whether  the  present  form  of  government  will 
weather  the  storm  ;  whether  concessions  can  be 
made  without  the  appearance  of  yielding  to  fear; 
whether  these  concessions  will  achieve  the  ends  for 
which  they  are  made,  or  whether  they  will  only  add 
fuel  to  the  present  flame  of  vague  discontent ;  how 
much  real  sympathy,  in  fact,  exists  for  this  desire  of 
change — all  these  arc  questions  upon  which  it  is 
almost  impossible  for  any  one  to  give  conclusive 
answers.  We  can  only  see  that,  in  the  short  period  of 
twenty  years,  the  most  vast  and  fundamental  changes 
have  been  made  in  the  social  economy  of  a  great 
state;  that  these  changes  have  more  or  less  unsettled 
people's  elementary  beliefs,  and  have  brought  about 
a  widespread  commotion  in  the  world  of  ideas  ;  and 
that  the  more  visionary  and  desperate  class  of  the 
community  have  supplemented  their  ideas  with 
deeds  of  foul  and  loathsome  crime.  Whether  these 
people  will  succeed  in  imparting  their  own  views  to 
the  nation  at  large,  and  bring  about  a  vast  uprising 
to  be  followed  by  anarchy  and  misrule,  out  of  which 
eventually  a  stable  but  different  form  of  govern- 
ment will  arise,  or  whether  the  better  and  conserva- 
tive sense  of  the  community  will  assert  itself  to 
crush  out  lawlessness,  and  gradually  accustom  itself, 


250  An)iv  Life  i)i  Russia. 

to  the  new  order  of  things,  the  future  alone  can  de- 
termine. It  is  a  great  and  in  many  ways  a  unique 
phase  of  national  development,  the  progress  of 
which  we  may  be  sure  the  world  will  watch  with 
intense  interest. 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE   EASTERN   QUESTION. 

It  may  seem  strange  that,  in  a  book  intended  to 
tell  something  of  the  habits  and  characteristics  of 
the  officers  and  men  of  the  Russian  army,  I  should 
have  anything  to  say  on  a  political  question,  con- 
cerning which  volumes,  and  pages,  and  columns 
have  already  been  written,  particularly  in  the  last 
few  years.  Yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
Russian  army  exists,  in  a  large  measure,  by  reason 
of  the  Eastern  question  ;  that  many  thousands  of 
Russian  soldiers  have  died  fighting  in  defense  of 
their  view  of  it,  and  that  many  more  will  probably 
meet  the  same  fate  before  the  question  is  decided. 
But  for  the  Eastern  question,  the  Russian  army 
would  only  be  a  small  fraction  numerically  of  what 
it  is  now ;  the  lives  of  its  officers  and  men  would  be 
passed  otherwise  ;  their  character,  and  feelings,  and 
thoughts  would  be  different  from  what  they  actually 
are. 

The  Eastern  question  overshadows  and  pene- 
trates everything  connected  with  the  Russian  army. 
During  the  year  and  a  half  th.it  I  was  with  it  in  the 

2S> 


252  Ann)'  Life  in  Russia. 

field,  or  at  St.  Petersburg,  I  breathed  the  atmos- 
phere of  this  tjuestion  at  all  hours;  it  filled  a  large 
portion  of  every  newspaper  that  I  received,  whether 
from  St.  Petersburg,  Paris,  or  London  ;  it  entered 
into  every  conversation  of  any  length  which  I  held 
with  Russian  officers ;  it  was  the  all-absorbing  topic 
in  the  diplomatic  society  of  Constantinople  and  St. 
Petersburg.  While  one  of  its  most  important  crises 
— that  between  the  treaties  of  San  Stefano  and  Ber- 
lin— was  being  developed,  the  whole  army  waited, 
expectant  and  anxious,  but  otherwise  unoccupied, 
and  watched  its  progress  from  day  to  day ;  for  on 
the  result  depended  the  movements  of  the  army 
and  the  lives  of  many  of  its  officers  and  men.  So 
far,  then,  from  being  foreign  to  the  subject  of  these 
sketches,  the  Eastern  question  forms  a  large  part  of 
the  thoughts  and  daily  life  of  Russian  military  men, 
fully  as  much  so  as  their  marches  and  battles,  and 
for  this  reason  I  have  thought  it  not  inappropriate 
to  refer  to  it.  While  I  cannot  hope  to  say  much,  if 
anything,  that  is  new  on  a  subject  that  has  been  so 
thoroughly  discussed,  yet  I  have  endeavored  to 
bring  together  within  a  single  chapter  the  salient 
features  of  this  unique  phase  of  history.  I  have 
also  attempted  to  give  prominence  to  the  Russian 
views  of  the  question — which,  in  the  main,  I  believe 
to  be  the  correct  ones — because  Americans  are  in  the 
habit  of  hearing  only  the  other  side.     Our  language 


The  Eastern  Question.  253 

being  the  same  as  that  of  England,  and  the  opinions 
of  the  Continent  being  transmitted  to  us  principally 
through  the  English  press,  we  receive  constantly 
the  most  prejudiced,  unfair,  and  at  times  false 
statements  about  Eastern  affairs.  It  is  true  that 
the  parties  in  England  are  sharply  divided  on  this 
question,  and  we  hear  from  both;  but  the  arguments 
of  the  Liberal  party  are  directed  less  to  prove  that 
Russia  is  following  the  cause  of  right,  in  waging 
war  on  the  Ottoman  government,  than  to  show  that 
the  blustering  course  of  the  Conservatives  has 
played  into  the  hands  of  Russia.  When  in  power, 
the  Liberals  have  seldom  acted  fairly  and  openly 
with  Russia,  and  it  was  a  Liberal  administration 
which  framed  tne  treaty  of  Paris — the  most  false 
step  in  the  whole  history  of  Eastern  affairs. 

For  the  facts  given  in  the  earlier  period  of  the 
following  sketch  I  have  drawn  largely  on  Sir 
Edward  Crcary's  "  History  of  the  Ottoman  Turks," 
which,  in  turn,  is  founded  on  Von  Hammer,  who  is 
the  standard  authority  on  the  subject.  For  the 
later  period  I  have  relied  on  the  voluminous  Parlia- 
mentary papers  referring  to  Turkey. 

In  1356  the  Ottoman  Turks  entered  Europe  by 
crossing  the  Dardanelles  and  seizing  Gallipoli. 
The  Eastern  question  then  arose,  and  it  has  been  a 
burning   question    for  the  greater  part   of   luiropc 


254  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

from  that  day  to  this.  It  arises  from  the  irreconci- 
lability of  opposing  religions,  and  is  complicated  in 
its  later  periods  by  the  jealousies  of  the  different 
nationalities  professing  that  religion  which  has 
proved  to  be  the  stronger.  But  intrinsically  it  is  a 
question  of  religion  :  the  question  whether  the  Turks 
— professing  the  religion  which  they  do,  carrying  its 
precepts  into  every  transaction  of  daily  life,  and 
possessing  the  character  which  springs  from  it — 
whether  these  Turks  shall  be  suffered  to  remain  in 
Europe,  and  to  govern  other  races  of  a  different 
creed  in  accordance  with  the  prejudice  founded  on 
the  Koran,  and  having  almost  the  force  of  common 
law,  that  unbelievers  are  mere  dogs,  possessed  of  no 
rights,  entitled  to  no  justice,  to  oppress  whom  is  a 
virtue,  and  to  kill  whom  is  a  religious  privilege.* 

*  There  is  not  a  chapter  of  the  Koran  which  does  not  breathe 
forth  hatred  against  all  those  who  do  not  believe  in  it,  and  for  the  sole 
ground  of  this  lack  of  belief.  In  one  place  it  is  commanded,  "  O 
true  believers,  wage  war  against  such  of  the  infidels  as  are  near 
you;"  in  another  it  is  said,  "Hell  shall  surely  encompass  the  un- 
believers ;  "  and  again,  "  Mohammed  is  the  apostle  of  God  ;  and 
those  who  are  with  him  are  fierce  against  the  unbelievers,  but  com- 
passionate towards  one  another;"  and  finally,  "The  unbeliever  is 
contemptible  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord."  Quotations  of  a  similar 
character  might  be  taken  from  nearly  every  page,  and  in  fact,  next 
to  the  cardinal  principles  of  the  unity  of  God  and  the  divine  in- 
spiration of  Mohammed,  the  doctrine  which  the  Koran  most  strenu- 
ously teaches,  is  the  right  and  duty  of  waging  unending  war  upon  all 
those  who  do  not  acknowledge  its  divine  origin  and  validity. 


The  Eastern  Question.  255 

There  is  no  cause  which  so  deeply  stirs  men's 
souls,  or  prompts  them  to  wage  war  so  fiercely,  as  a 
dispute  concerning  the  attributes  of  God,  or  con- 
cerning the  merits  of  those  who  claim  to  be  his 
prophets  ;  and  the  difference  between  the  Christian 
and  Mohammedan  creeds  is  so  radical  and  funda- 
mental, the  statute  and  common  laws  based  on 
them  respectively  are  so  utterly  antagonistic  in 
principle,  and  the  feelings  with  which  they  are  sup- 
ported by  their  respective  partisans  are  so  intense, 
that  there  can  never  be  lasting  peace  between  con- 
tiguous nations,  one  professing  one  creed  and  the 
other  professing  the  other  ;  even  were  each  nation 
composed  only  of  members  of  its  own  faith.  But 
if,  in  addition  to  this,  one  of  the  nations,  and  the 
one  whose  creed  and  practice  are  the  most  intoler- 
ant of  opposition,  the  most  regardless  of  ordinary 
justice,  and  the  most  reckless  of  human  life,  has  in 
its  power  several  millions  of  people  belonging  to  the 
other  faith,  then  we  may  be  sure  that  the  conflict 
will  never  end  so  long  as  both  of  them  continue  to 
exist.  It  will  terminate  only  with  the  death  of  the 
weaker. 

At  the  time  the  Turks  entered  Europe,  the  East- 
ern Empire  of  Rome  had  proceeded  so  far  in  its 
course  of  disintegration  tliat  nothing  remained  of  it 
but  Constantinople,  Trebizond,  and  Salonica,  and  a 
small  amount   of  territory  around  each,  as  well   as 


256  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

the  lower  portion  of  the  rdoponncsus.  The  king- 
doms of  Bulgaria  and  Scrvia  comprised  the  lands 
south  of  the  Danube  ;  to  the  north  of  them  was  the 
extensive  kingdom  of  Hungary,  and  to  the  east  of 
this  was  Moldavia.  The  islands  of  the  ^gean  and 
the  eastern  Mediterranean  were  colonies  of  Venice 
or  other  Frank  powers. 

Every  one  of  these  countries  was  overrun  and  re- 
duced to  complete  subjugation  by  the  Turks  in  the 
course  of  the  next  two  centuries.  In  1361  they 
captured  Adrianople,  and  made  it,  temporarily, 
their  European  capital.  In  1363  they  captured 
Philippopolis,  in  1371  Tirnova,  and  in  1382  Sophia. 
In  1389  they  destroyed  in  the  battle  of  Kossova  the 
last  confederated  army  of  Bulgarians,  Servians,  Wal- 
lachians,  and  Bosnians,  and  completed  their  con- 
quests as  far  as  the  borders  of  Hungary.  It  was 
only  in  the  next  century,  however,  and  nearly  a 
hundred  years  after  their  entry  into  Europe,  that, 
after  repeated  failures,  they  finally  succeeded,  on 
May  29th,  1453,  in  capturing  Constantinople  ;  and 
thus  extinguished  forever  the  Eastern  Empire,  and 
made  themselves  one  of  the  most  powerful  nations 
of  Europe. 

For  nearly  seventy  years  after  the  taking  of  Con- 
stantinople the  Turks  were  busy  in  consolidating 
their  power  in  Europe,  and  in  extending  their  do- 
minion through  Syria  to  Egypt.     Then,  with  the  ac- 


TJic  Eastern  Question.  257 

cession  of  Suleiman  the  Magnificent  in  1520,  the 
tide  of  conquest  turned  northward  again.  In  the 
next  year  Belgrade  was  taken,  and,  in  a  series  of 
wars  which  followed,  the  kingdom  of  Hungary  was 
destroyed,  and  passed  under  the  direct  or  tributary 
power  of  the  Turks.  At  the  close  of  Suleiman's 
reign  in  1566,  the  Turkish  dominions  included  all 
the  lands  as  far  north  as  Buda-Pesth,  and  their 
tributary  states  comprised  Transylvania,  Wallachia, 
Moldavia,  the  Crimea,  and  the  shores  of  the  Sea  of 
Azov ;  thus  completing  the  circuit  of  the  Black  Sea, 
save  a  small  portion  inhabited  by  the  mountain 
tribes  of  the  Caucasus.  Their  territorial  possessions 
in  Europe  were  then  far  greater  than  those  of  any 
other  nation,  save  only  Russia,  which  was  at  that 
time  more  Asiatic  than  European.  The  Sultan 
ruled  nearly  fifty  millions  of  people  ;  he  could  put  a 
well-equipped  army  of  three  hundred  thousand  men 
in  the  field  ;  and  he  received  a  tribute  of  thirty 
thousand  ducats  a  year  from  the  proud  house  of 
Hapsburg.  His  fleet  under  Barbarossa  was  mistress 
of  the  Mediterranean,  and  was  able  to  cope  with 
and  defeat  the  combined  navies  of  Venice,  the 
Pope,  and  the  German  Emperor. 

Turkey  was  the  first  of  the  "Great  Powers"  of 
that  day,  equally  feared  and  hated  by  all  its  rivals. 

The  wave  of  conquest  liad   now   reached  its  far- 
thest limit ;  it  remained  nearly  stationary  for  about 


258  Arv/r  Life  in  Russia. 

a  luuulrcd  years,  and  then  the  tide  turned,  and  has 
ever  since  been  slowly  but  surely  receding  whence  it 
came,  until  now  but  little  more  remains  to  the 
Turks  in  Europe  than  did  to  the  Eastern  Empire  at 
the  time  of  their  arrival. 

This  retrocession  did  not  begin  suddenly,  how- 
ever. The  first  decisive  check  was  received  by  the 
Turks  early  in  Suleiman's  reign  (1529),  when  an 
army  of  over  two  hundred  thousand  men  was  de- 
feated under  the  walls  of  Vienna ;  and  the  second 
occurred  later  in  the  same  reign,  when  the  naval  ex- 
pedition against  Malta  resulted  in  total  failure.  In 
1 57 1  a  fleet  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  ships  and 
thirty  thousand  men  was  destroyed  at  Lepanto  by 
the  combined  navies  of  Venice,  Spain  and  the  Pope ; 
and  about  the  same  time  the  first  encounter  took 
place  between  the  Russian  and  Turkish  arms,  aris- 
ing from  an  expedition  sent  by  the  Turks  to  cut  a 
channel  from  the  Don  to  the  Volga,  and  thus  give 
the  Turkish  fleets  an  entrance  to  the  Caspian. 

But  although  all  these  expeditions  resulted  in  de- 
feat, the  Turks  were  then  in  the  full  vigor  of  their 
youthful  vitality,  and  they  quickly  recovered  from 
them,  without  loss  of  prestige  or  territory.  This 
vitality  nevertheless  soon  came  to  be  sapped  in  the 
succession  of  weak  and  sensual  sultans  who  fol- 
lowed the  great  Suleiman,  and  in  the  general  cor- 
ruption of  the  ruling  class,  the  beginning  of  which 


The  Eastern  Question.  259 

dates  from  this  period — the  dose  of  the  sixteenth 
and  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  centun,-.  Con- 
stant revolts  in  Hungary  also  tended  to  weaken  the 
strength  of  the  Porte,  and  several  years  later  the 
decisive  defeat  by  John  Sobieski,  in  1683,  of 
another  great  Turkish  army  at  Vienna  was  hailed 
throughout  Christendom  as  the  beginning  of  the 
downfall  of  the  Ottoman    power. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  that  the  Turks  ever  formally  ratified 
any  cession  of  territory.  The  treaty  of  Carlowitz, 
which  was  signed  January  26,  1699,  at  the  close  of  a 
disastrous  campaign  against  the  Austrians  under 
Prince  Eugene,  and  the  Russians  under  Peter  the 
Great,  is  the  great  turning-point  in  Turkish  history. 
Austria,  Russia,  Poland  and  Venice,  took  part  in  a 
congress,  at  which  England  and  Holland  appeared 
alsoas  mediators,  and  all  four  nations  signed  treaties 
with  Turkey,  by  which  Transylvania,  Hungary,  and  a 
part  of  Servia  were  ceded  to  Austria,  Podolia  to  Po- 
land, the  shores  of  the  Sea  of  Azov  and  the  Crimea  to 
Russia,  the  Morea  and  part  of  Dalmatia  to  Venice. 

The  ancient  Turkish  saying  that  "  Every  place 
where  the  hoof  of  the  Sultan's  horse  has  once  trod 
becomes  at  once,  and  forever,  part  of  the  Sultan's 
dominions,"  was  belied  by  the  logic  of  events,  and 
was  henceforth  but  a  vain  and  cmi)ty  boast. 

The  wars  of  Austria  and    Russia  against  Turkey 


26o  Army  Life  in  Rjissur. 

continued  at  short  intervals,  and  M'ith  varying  suc- 
cess, throughout  the  whole  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Venice  disappeared  from  the  scene  at  the  peace  of 
Passarowitz,  in  171 8,  in  which,  although  an  ally  of 
Austria,  she  was  obliged  to  give  back  the  Morea  to 
Turkey. 

Austria  at  first  gained  another  large  piece  of  Ser- 
via,  but  after  Eugene's  death  was  unable  to  retain 
it  ;  while  Peter  was  obliged  in  171 1  to  sue  for  peace 
and  to  give  back  Azov  and  the  Crimea,  although 
they  were  recovered  again  by  Munnich  for  the  Em- 
press Anne  in  1739. 

The  Empress  Catherine,  the  most  ambitious  of 
all  the  rulers  of  Russia,  prosecuted  the  wars  against 
the  Turks  to  the  full  extent  of  her  power  during 
her  entire  reign.  She  permanently  won  back  the 
Crimea  and  the  Black  Sea  coast;  and  she  also  made 
a  treaty,  known  as  that  of  Kainardji,  in  1774,  which 
contained  the  following  clause,  which  subsequently 
gave  rise  to  much  contention  as  to  its  true  meaning, 
viz. :  "  The  sublime  Porte  promises  to  protect  con- 
stantly the  Christian  religion  and  its  churches,"  and 
it  also  allows  the  Russian  ambassador  to  make  rep- 
resentations in  behalf  of  the  Greek  church  in  Con- 
stantinople and  its  ministers. 

A  dozen  years  later  Catherine  embarked  in 
another  war  against  the  Turks,  this  time  in  alliance 
with  Austria ;  but  the  latter  power  withdrew,  and 


TJic  Eastern  Question.  261 

Russia  prosecuted  the  war  alone  and  with  great  suc- 
cess, thanks  to  Suwarof.  By  the  treaty  of  Yassy, 
made  in  1791,  Russia  advanced  her  frontiers  to  the 
Dniester,  and  compelled  the  Turks  to  acknowledge 
her  authority  over  the  tribes  on  the  northern  side 
of  the  Caucasus.  Catherine  was  again  preparing  for 
another  struggle,  which  she  hoped  might  be  final, 
when  death  put  an  end  to  all  her  plans  in  1796. 

An  entirely  new  aspect  was  now  given  to  affairs 
in  the  East  by  the  rise  of  Napoleon  in  France,  and 
for  the  next  twenty  years  the  Eastern  question  was 
diverted  from  its  usual  course  and  made  subservient 
to  the  policies  brought  about  by  Napoleon's  plans 
of  conquest.  His  Egyptian  campaign  first  brought 
England  into  the  field,  as  an  ally  of  Russia  and 
Turkey  against  France.  Subsequently,  when  Napo- 
leon courted  the  friendship  of  the  Sultan,  England 
joined  Russia  against  the  Turks.  But  England's  at- 
tention being  soon  occupied  elsewhere,  Russia  con- 
tinued the  war  alone,  and  in  18 12  made  a  treaty  by 
which  her  frontier  was  advanced  to  the  Pruth. 

After  the  fall  of  Napoleon  Eastern  affairs  drifted 
back  into  their  natural  channel,  and  now  the  three 
principal  nations  interested — Russia,  Turkey,  and 
England — began  gradually  to  assume  the  jiositions 
which  they  have  maintained  to  the  present  day: 
Russia,  the  protector  of  the  misgoverned  Christians; 
Turkey,  their  oppressor:    and     England    sustaining 


262  Artny  Life  in  Russia. 

Turkey  in  behalf  of  her  own  I'nterestr,  in  the  East. 
From  this  time  Austria  has  remained  in  the  back- 
ground, except  at  decisive  diplomatic  moments. 

The  subjugated  provinces  also  began  to  strike 
blows  for  their  independence  ;  Servia  had  been 
fighting  since  1808,  Moldavia  and  Wallachia  since 
1820,  and  Greece  since  1821.  The  Emperor  Nicho- 
las, immediately  after  his  accession,  took  all  these 
people  under  his  protection,  and  forced  on  the 
Turks    without  a  war    the  treaty  of   Akerman   in 

1826,  by  which  Servia  became  semi-independent, 
and  the  Hospodars,  or  governors  of  Moldavia  and 
Wallachia,  who  were  elected  by  the  Boyars  or  lords 
of  the  land  from  among  their  own  number,  were 
not  to  be  removed  by  the  Porte  except  with  the 
permission  of  Russia.  In  1827,  England,  under  the 
leadership  of  Canning,  joined  Russia  and  France 
in  a  treaty  of  mediation  between  Turkey  and  the 
Greeks,  by  which  the  independence  of  a  portion  of 
Greece  was  demanded.  The  Sultan  declining  to  ac- 
cede to  this,  the  combined  fleets  of  the  allies  de- 
stroyed  the   Turkish   navy  at  Navarino  in   October, 

1827.  But  Canning  died,  the  battle  of  Navarino 
was  spoken  of  by  his  successor  as  an  "  untoward 
event,"  and  England  and  France  withdrew  from  the 
position  they  had  assumed.  The  Emperor  Nicho- 
las, however,  determined  to  make  his  word  good, 
and  promptly  waged  war  to  accomplish  it ;  Russian 


The  Eastern  Question.  26 


0 


troops  for  the  first  time  crossed  the  Balkans,  and  in 
1829  dictated  at  Adrianople  a  treaty  of  which  the 
essential  feature  was  the  erection  of  Greece  into  an 
independent  kingdom.  In  addition  to  this,  more 
guaranties  were  provided  to  secure  the  semi-inde- 
pendence of  Servia,  and  it  was  stipulated  that  no 
Mussulman  should  reside  in  Moldavia  or  Wallachia. 

This  cursory  review  of  the  principal  facts  in  Turk- 
ish history,  from  the  time  of  their  entry  into 
Europe,  is  a  necessary  introduction  to  a  study  of 
the  events  of  the  last  fifty  years.  We  see  that  the 
Turks,  after  overrunning  the  weak  nations  south  of 
the  Danube,  were  finally  stopped  by  Austria,  and 
that  it  was  Austria  Avho  held  them  in  check  and 
first  began  to  drive  them  backward.  Russia  joined 
her  in  this  work,  and  then  finally  took  nearly  all  of 
it  upon  herself,  while  the  western  nations  took  no 
very  active  part  in  the  matter  until  they  became  by 
accident,  rather  than  design,  involved  in  it  during 
the  wars  of  Napoleon, 

It  was  but  a  few  years  after  the  treaty  of  Adria- 
nople when,  in  1833,  the  Turkish  Empire  was  threat- 
ened with  destruction  by  the  great  rebellion  of 
Ibrahim,  Pasha  of  Egypt.  Such  a  fate  promised  no 
good  to  the  Christians,  and  nothing  but  anarchy  for 
Turkey,  and  the  Emperor  Nicholas  at  once  came  to 
the  Sultan's  aid  by  landing  troops  for  the  defense 
of  Constantinople.     In   1839,  another  war  broke  out 


264  An/iy  J.  iff  in  Russia. 

Avitli  Egypt,  and  this  time  the  great  powers  all 
united  to  suppress  the  rebelhon,  and  to  regulate  the 
relations  between  the  Sultan  and  his  Viceroy.  The 
treaty  of  1841  which  arranged  these  matters  was 
signed  by  Austria,  France,  England,  Prussia,  Russia, 
and  Turkey  ;  and  since  that  time  the  great  powers 
have  all  taken  cognizance  of  everything  relating  to 
Turkey. 

That  power  which,  after  Russia,  has  assumed  to 
have  the  most  interest  in  the  matter,  is  England. 
Her  modern  position  on  this  question  was  first 
enunciated  by  Mr.  Pitt  in  1792  ;  he  argued  that 
"  the  true  principle  by  which  the  foreign  policy  of 
England  should  be  directed,  was  the  fundamental 
principle  of  preserving  the  balance  of  power  in 
Europe  ;  and  that  the  true  doctrine  of  the  balance 
of  power  required  that  the  Russian  Empire  should 
not,  if  possible,  be  allowed  to  increase,  nor  that  of 
Turkey  to  diminish."  This  was  the  first  enuncia- 
tion of  that  theorem  of  the  "  integrity  and  indepen- 
dence of  the  Ottoman  Empire  "  on  which  the  Treaty 
of  Paris  was  founded,  seventy-four  years  later;  it 
asserted  that,  no  matter  how  hideous  might  be  the 
misgovernment  of  the  Turks,  their  empire  must  be 
propped  up  and  maintained,  that  Russia  must  al- 
ways remain  a  semi-Asiatic  power,  and  that  the 
wheels  of  progress  must  stand  still.  It  assumed 
that  it  was  possible  **  to  dam  up  the  waters  of  the 


Tlie  Eastern  Question.  265 

Nile  with  bulrushes  ;  "  and  it  was  singularly  opposed 
in  principle  to  the  views  which  Mr.  Pitt's  father  had 
held  in  regard  to  the  American  colonies. 

But  Pitt  was  unable  to  enforce  his  views  by  any 
practical  measures ;  England  could  not  afford  to 
wage  war  for  them  unsupported ;  France  was  in  the 
throes  of  the  Revolution,  and  the  other  nations 
could  not  be  induced  to  support  them  actively. 
Not  long  afterward  all  Europe  was  distracted  by  the 
wars  of  Napoleon. 

But  meanwhile  the  English  possessions  in  India 
were  rapidly  developing  into  a  vast  empire.  When 
the  wars  of  Napoleon  were  over  and  Europe  had  re- 
turned to  its  normal  condition,  Englishmen  began 
to  turn  their  thoughts  to  the  East,  and  to  make  pre- 
parations to  secure  their  eastern  possessions  against 
all  possible  rivals.  Although  Russia  did  not  begin 
her  advances  in  Central  Asia  till  several  years  later, 
yet,  in  view  of  the  possibility  of  a  Suez  canal  or  an 
overland  route  along  the  Euphrates,  a  certain  class 
of  Englishmen  began  to  reason  that  the  security  of 
their  eastern  possessions  depended  on  keeping  Rus- 
sia out  of  the  Mediterranean  at  any  cost.  When, 
therefore,  these  same  views  of  Pitt  were  repeated  in  a 
slightly  different  form  by  Palmerston  and  others,  in 
the  second  third  of  this  century,  they  found  ready 
listeners  ;  and  hatred  of    Russia  became  an  article 

of  faith  with  a  large  portion  of  the  English  public. 
12 


266  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

Wo  have  seen  that,  in  1829,  the  Emperor  Nicholas 
established  the  independence  of  Greece  and  the 
semi-independence  of  Moldavia,  Wallachia,  and 
Servia.  The  Ottoman  Empire  then  began  to  tot- 
ter, but  the  Sultan  of  the  day,  Mahmoud  II.,  was  a 
man  of  no  small  force  of  character,  and  he  made  a 
desperate  struggle  to  put  his  house  in  order  and 
prevent  its  fall.  Early  in  his  reign  he  had  had  the 
courage  to  attempt  a  reform  of  the  most  vital  cha- 
racter, viz.,  the  suppression  of  the  rebellious  and 
turbulent  Janissaries.  This  body  of  soldiers  was 
originally  recruited  by  the  system  of  "  blood-tax  ;  " 
/.  i\,  a  certain  number  of  Christian  children  were 
abducted  eveiy  year  from  the  conquered  provinces, 
forcibly  brought  up  in  the  Moslem  faith,  and  incor- 
porated in  the  army.  They  were  for  a  long  series 
of  years  the  finest  soldiers  in  the  Turkish  service, 
but  eventually  they  became  its  most  intolerable 
scourge.  By  their  insubordination  and  rebellion  at 
critical  periods  they  caused  more  than  one  cam- 
paign to  be  lost  ;  and  it  is  a  fine  instance  of  retrib- 
utive justice,  that  a  system  originally  designed  to 
exact  the  most  hideous  form  of  tribute  should  final- 
ly have  come  home  to  curse  its  authors,  and  been 
instrumental  in  hastening  their  downfall.  Mah- 
moud saw  that  he  could  never  hope  for  success  in 
the  field  with  a  mutinous  army,  and  he  suppressed 
the  Janissaries  in  1826,  by  massacreing  nearly  twen- 


The  Eastern  Question.  267 

ty-five  thousand  of  them  at  their  barracks  in  Con- 
stantinople and  elsewhere  throughout  the  empire. 
After  1829  Mahmoud  turned  his  attention  to  the 
internal  condition  of  his  country,  with  a  view  to 
make  such  reforms  as  might  preserve  it  from  de- 
struction ;  but  he  died  in  1839,  before  much  progress 
had  been  made  in  formulating  his  projects,  and  far 
less  in  executing  them. 

His  successor,  however,  had  been  carefully  edu- 
cated in  his  own  ideas,  and  before  he  had  been  six 
months  on  the  throne  he  promulgated  the  first  of 
that  long  series  of  proclamations  and  edicts  which 
have  been  so  greatly  in  vogue  with  the  Turkish  ru- 
lers of  the  last  forty  years,  and  which,  under  the 
form  of  glittering  generalities  concerning  right  and 
justice,  and  imperial  commands  that  the  life  and 
property  of  their  subjects  shall  be  respected,  have  in 
reality  been  addressed  to  Europe  as  an  evidence  of 
repentance  on  the  part  of  the  Turkish  rulers,  and  a 
cause  why  judgment  should  not  now  be  pronounced 
against  them  for  their  many  and  terrible  crimes. 

This  remarkable  document,  the  IJatti-Schcrijf  of 
Gulhand-  (where  it  was  signed),  bearing  the  date  of 
November  3,  1839,  begins  by  reciting  that  "all 
the  world  knows  that  in  the  first  days  of  the  Otto- 
man monarchy,  the  glorious  precepts  of  the  Koran 
and  the  laws  of  the  Empire  wore  always  honored. 
The  Empire,  in  consequence,  increased   in    strength 


268  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

and  greatness,  and  all  her  subjects,  without  excep- 
tion, had  risen  in  the  highest  degree  to  ease  and 
prosperity.  In  the  last  hundred  and  fifty  years  a 
succession  of  accidents  and  divers  causes  have 
arisen,  which  have  brought  about  a  disregard  for  the 
sacred  code  of  laws  and  the  regulations  flowing 
therefrom,  and  the  former  strength  and  prosperity 
have  turned  into  weakness  and  poverty;  an  empire, 
in  fact,  loses  all  its  stability  so  soon  as  it  ceases  to 
observe  its  laws." 

The  Sultan  therefore  prescribes  and  orders  the 
following : 

"  1st.  Guarantees  insuring  to  our  subjects  perfect 
security  for  life,  honor,  and  fortune.  2d.  A  regular 
system  of  assessing  and  levying  the  taxes.  3d.  An 
equally  regular  system  for  the  levy  of  troops  and 
the  duration  of  service." 

In  order  to  carry  out  these  projects  it  is  ordered 
that  "  henceforth  the  cause  of  every  accused  person 
shall  be  publicly  judged  in  accordance  with  the 
divine  law,"  and  "no  one  can  be  put  to  death  by 
poison  or  otherwise,"  except  after  such  public 
judgment.  "  No  one  shall  be  allowed  to  attack 
the  honor  of  another."  "  Each  one  shall  possess 
his  property  of  every  kind,  and  shall  dispose  of  it 
in  all  freedom,  without  let  or  hindrance  from  any 
person  whatever." 

"  We  therefore  grant  perfect  security  to  the  in- 


The  Eastern  Quest  ion.  269 

habitants  of  our  Empire,  in  their  lives,  their  honor, 
and  their  fortunes,  as  they  are  secured  to  them  by 
the  sacred  text  of  our  law." 

The  document  significantly  concludes  by  com- 
manding not  only  that  this  imperial  rescript  shall  be 
published  throughout  the  empire,  but  also  that  it 
"  shall  be  oflficially  communicated  to  all  the  ambassa- 
dors of  friendly  Powers,  resident  at  Constantinople, 
that  they  may  be  witnesses  of  these  institutions, 
which,  should  it  please  God,  shall  last  forever."  '^ 

But  this  proclamation  produced  no  practical  re- 
sult beyond  deceiving  Europe  for  a  short  time  with 
its  promises.  Whether  the  Sultan  was  sincere  in 
his  intentions  or  not  is  a  matter  of  no  practical 
importance,  for  the  Koran  everywhere  speaks  of 
unbelievers  in  such  terms  of  scorn  and  hatred,  that 
the  idea  of  their  being  treated  with  the  same  justice 
as  Mussulmans  is  repugnant  to  the  very  fundamental 
doctrines  of  the  Moslem  faith.  Were  any  such 
general  edicts  to  be  followed  by  detailed  laws  for 
their  enforcement,  and  were  any  serious  effort  made 
to  give  them  practical  effect,  the  Sultan  could  not 
remain  on  his  throne  a  minute.  A  grand  mufti  f 
would  immediately  be  found,  to  whom  would  be  pre- 

*  The  text  of  this  edict  is  given  at  length  in  Herstlet's  "  Map  of 
Europe  by  Treaty,"  from  which  the  above  extracts  are  taken,  as  well 
as  all  other  extracts  and  references  throughout  this  chapter  to  treaties 
since  1815. 

t  Chief  interpreter  of  Moslem  law. 


2^0  Arjny  Life  in  Russia. 

scnted,  as  in  the  case  of  Sultan  Sclim  in  1807,  ^'"^tl 
Abdul  Aziz  in  1 876,  and  several  of  their  predeces- 
sors, a  series  of  questions  asking  whether  a  Sultan 
who  had  done  so  and  so  had  not  violated  the 
organic  law,  and  made  himself  liable  to  deposition 
and  death.  The  mufti,  as  in  the  other  cases,  would 
answer  Yes,  and  cite  a  verse  of  the  Koran  ;  and  a 
few  hours  later  a  salute  of  a  hundred  guns  from 
Seraglio  Point  would  announce  the  accession  of  a 
new  ruler.  This  form  of  proceeding  has  been  car- 
ried out  too  often  to  leave  any  doubt  that  it  would 
be  promptly  repeated  were  any  Sultan  to  offer 
such  violence  to  Moslem  traditions  and  feelings  as 
to  attempt  really  to  enforce  a  law  granting  equal 
justice  to  the  faithful  and  to  the  unbelievers. 

The  Emperor  Nicholas,  seeing  that  this  procla- 
mation was  merely  a  grand  farce,  that  the  oppres- 
sion of  the  Christians  was  becoming  more  and  more 
intolerable,  that  the  corruption  and  degradation  of 
the  ruling  class  were  ever  increasing,  that  the 
authority  of  the  government  was  being  weakened 
and  its  dissolution  approaching,  and  that  the  East- 
ern question,  so  long  as  it  remained  in  that  condi- 
tion, was  a  standing  menace  to  the  peace  of  Europe 
— resolved  upon  a  course  of  action  which  certainly 
went  to  the  root  of  the  whole  matter.  He  pro- 
posed that  Russia  and  England  should  come  to  a 
distinct  understanding  concerning  the  Eastern  ques- 


The  Eastern  Question.  271 

tion,  and  that  the  Ottoman  government  should  then 
be  driven  out  of  Europe. 

He  first  sounded  several  English  statesmen  on 
the  subject,  during  a  visit  to  England  in  1844;  but 
meeting  with  but  little  response,  he  deferred  the 
subject  for  nearly  ten  years.  In  1853  he  brought  it 
forward  again  in  those  memorable  and  much-quoted 
conversations  with  the  British  ambassador,  Sir  Ham- 
ilton Seymour,  in  which  the  Turk  was  first  spoken 
of  as  a  "  sick  man." 

The  Emperor  disclaimed  any  desire  for  territorial 
aggrandizement,  but  said,  "  The  affairs  of  Turkey 
are  in  a  very  disorganized  condition  ;  the  country 
itself  seems  to  be  falling  to  pieces ;  the  fall  will  be  a 
great  misfortune,  and  it  is  very  important  that  Eng- 
land and  Russia  should  come  to  a  perfectly  good 
understanding  upon  these  affairs,  and  that  neither 
should  take  any  decisive  step  of  which  the  other  is 
not  apprised." 

In  the  next  conversation  he  repeated  the  state- 
ment that  the  Turk  was  a  very  sick  man,  "  liable  to 
die  on  our  hands  at  any  moment,"  and  suggested 
whether  it  would  not  be  well  to  agree  beforehand 
what  should  be  done  in  sucli  a  contingency,  rather 
than  to  leave  everything  to  the  chances  of  a  Euro- 
pean war,  which  would  otherwise  be  unavoidable. 

Subsequently  he  became  more  definite  in  his  pro- 
posals and  stated  positively  that  he  would  never 


272  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

permit  England  to  take  Constantinople,  nor  would 
he  take  it  permanently  for  himself.  He  suggested 
that  Servia  and  Bulgaria  should  receive  the  same 
form  of  independence  as  that  already  enjoyed  by 
the  principalities  of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia,  and 
that  he  had  no  objection  to  England  taking  Egypt 
and  Crete  if  she  desired.  But  these  were  mere  sug- 
gestions, and  he  intimated  his  desire  to  hear  what 
England  had  to  propose,  the  great  object  being  that 
England  and  Russia  should  come  to  an  agreement 
about  this  never-ending  Eastern  question,  and  thus 
remove  the  greatest  source  of  European  wars.  He 
also  referred  to  the  several  millions  of  Christian  sub- 
jects in  Turkey,  whose  interests  he  was  called  upon 
to  watch  over,  while  the  right  of  doing  so  was  se- 
cured to  him  by  treaty. 

The  English  ambassador  was  far  more  than  a 
match  for  the  Emperor  in  diplomatic  craft  and 
astuteness  ;  he  succeeded  in  drawing  him  out  very 
fully  without  in  the  least  committing  himself,  or 
answering  anything  but  the  vaguest  generalities,  as 
a  prelude  to  further  questions.  He  then  sent  home 
a  verbatim  account  of  the  whole  series  of  conver- 
sations, which  was  published  to  the  world  about  a 
year  later,  accompanying  it  with  the  remark  that 
they  proved  that  the  Emperor  considered  that  the 
time  "not  <?/"the  dissolution,  \>\xt  for  the  dissolution 
of  Turkey  had  arrived." 


The  Eastern  Question.  273 

To  these  frank  proposals,  uttered  with  so  much  of 
almost  naiVeness,  the  cabinet  of  Lord  Aberdeen  re- 
plied in  a  haughty  tone,  that  it  was  not  usual  to 
make  arrangements  for  dismembering  an  ally,  and 
that  England  did  not  covet  any  of  the  Turkish  pos- 
sessions. The  Emperor  Nicholas  was  deeply  morti- 
fied at  the  manner  in  which  his  confidences  had 
been  received,  and  this  naturally  inspired  in  him  an 
intense  hatred  of  England,  which  he  bore  to  the  day 
of  his  death,  and  transmitted  to  his  successors ; 
while  England,  on  the  other  hand,  looked  upon  him 
as  a  secret  conspirator,  who  had  shown  his  hand, 
but  in  whom  no  confidence  was  henceforth  to  be 
placed.  In  this  state  of  affairs  a  war  was  only  a 
question  of  time  and  opportunity. 

A  pretext  for  iL  was,  in  fact,  already  at  hand  in  a 
triangular  quarrel  between  the  Roman  and  Greek 
churches  and  the  Turks,  concerning  the  holy  places 
at  Jerusalem.  This  quarrel  was  actively  fomented 
by  the  French  Emperor,  who  eagerly  sought  for  any- 
thing to  distract  the  attention  of  his  subjects  from 
his  own  usurpation.  The  Emperor  Nicholas  also 
fomented  it,  and  went  even  further,  by  sending  a 
special  ambassador  to  Constantinople  to  demand  a 
formal  and  more  explicit  acknowledgment  from  the 
Porte  of  his  authority  to  protect  the  Christians  in 
Turkey,  as  laid  down  in    the  treaty  of  Kainardji. 

This  was  demanded  in  eight  days,  and  being  refused, 
12* 


2/4  Ar)>iy  Life  in  Riissia. 

the  Emperor  Nicholas  marched  his  troops  into  the 
principalities  and  began  the  war.  England  and 
France  came  to  the  aid  of  Turkey  on  the  ground 
that  "  its  integrity  and  independence  had  been  rec- 
ognized as  essential  to  the  peace  of  Europe;  "  later 
on  Sardinia,  anxious  to  attract  the  attention  of 
Europe  upon  herself,  and  to  lay  the  foundations  of 
a  great  state  by  a  war  in  which  she  incurred  little  or 
no  danger,  joined  the  allies  in  a  struggle  in  which 
she  had  not  the  remotest  concern. 

The  events  of  the  Crimean  war  are  too  recent  and 
well  known  to  call  for  any  recapitulation.  It  would 
be  hard  to  say  on  which  side  there  was  the  greater 
mismanagement  and  corruption  in  military  adminis- 
tration ;  by  common  consent  there  was  but  one  man 
— Todleben — of  any  military  genius  on  either  side. 
But  Russia  was  overmatched,  not  so  much  by  the 
numbers  or  resources  of  her  opponents  as  by  her  own 
backwardness  in  civilization,  her  lack  of  railroads  or 
other  means  of  communication — in  short,  by  the 
very  hugeness  and  primitiveness  of  her  Empire. 
The  Emperor  Nicholas  died  of  grief  as  one  after 
another  of  his  life-long  and  cherished  hopes,  and 
plans,  and  beliefs  crumbled  to  pieces  and  disap- 
peared, and  his  successor  was  obliged  to  acknowl- 
edge himself  beaten,  and  sign  a  treaty  full  of  care- 
fully devised  humiliation,  in  order  to  devote  himself 
and  his  people  to  the  work  of  internal  regeneration. 


TJic  Eastern  Question.  275 

Englishmen  came  home  as  victors,  well  pleased  with 
themselves,  some  asserting  that  they  had  set  back 
the  march  of  Russian  conquest  for  a  hundred  years, 
while  others  claimed  more  modestly  that  they  had 
prevented  war  between  Russia  and  Turkey  for  twen- 
ty-five years  to  come.  What  Englishmen  now 
think  of  the  wisdom  of  the  Crimean  war  may  be 
judged  from  the  fact  that  two  years  ago  they  could 
not  be  induced  to  repeat  the  experiment,  although 
urged  on  to  it  by  the  most  crafty  and  unscrupulous 
leader  that  England  has  had  for  many  generations. 

The  treaty  of  Paris,  which  ended  this  war,  was 
based  upon  two  fundamental  ideas :  first,  the  main- 
tenance of  the  integrity  and  independence  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire,  and  its  admission  as  an  integral 
part  of  the  European  system  of  states;  and  second, 
humiliation  of  Russia. 

To  accomplish  the  latter  it  was  provided  that  the 
natural  frontier  line  of  the  Pruth  and  Danube,  con- 
quered by  Russia  in  181 2,  should  be  abolished,  and  in 
place  of  it  an  irregular  line  should  be  established  a 
few  miles  back  across  the  marshes  of  Bessarabia.  By 
this  means  the  frontiers  of  Russia  and  Turkey  would 
not  be  contiguous,  but  would  be  separated  by  a  nar- 
row strip  of  territory  belonging  to  the  principali- 
ties. It  was  further  stipulated  that  the  Black  Sea 
should  be  "  neutralized  ;"  /.  r.,  while  remaining  open 
to   the  commerce    of    all    nations,    no   man-of-war 


2/6  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

should  float  upon  it,  and  no  arsenals  should  be  main- 
tained on  its  shores.  Moreover,  it  was  stipulated  in 
a  separate  treaty  between  England,  France,  and 
Sweden,  that  the  former  Powers  would  guarantee 
the  latter  against  encroachments  by  Russia.  The 
Swedish  territories  were  in  no  way  threatened,  but 
they  afforded  a  convenient  pretext  for  a  gratuitous 
insult  to  Russia. 

Concerning  the  maintenance  of  the  Ottoman  Em- 
pire, the  seventh  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  ad- 
mitted the  Sublime  Porte  "  to  participate  in  the 
advantages  of  the  public  law  and  system  {concert) 
of  Europe,"  and  declared  that  each  of  the  Powers 
would  **  respect  the  independence  and  territorial  in- 
tegrity of  the  Ottoman  Empire."  The  eighth  article 
declared  that  each  I'owcr  would  resort  to  mediation 
before  having  recourse  to  force  in  case  of  a  misun- 
derstanding. By  a  separate  convention,  England, 
France,  and  Austria  agreed  to  guarantee  this  in- 
tegrity and  independence,  and  to  consider  any 
infraction  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  a  castis  belli. 

The  semi-independence  of  Wallachia,  Moldavia, 
and  Servia  were  confirmed,  and  these  principalities 
were  placed  under  the  protection  of  the  Great 
Powers,  each  of  whom  was  forbidden  to  interfere 
in  their  internal  affairs. 

On  its  part,  Turkey  laid  before  the  congress  the 
edict   of   the    Sultan,   known   as  the   Hatti-Huma- 


The  Eastern  Question.  277 

yoiini,  which  had  been  formulated  a  few  days 
before  the  treaty  was  signed,  and  ''  which,  while 
ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  Sultan's  subjects 
without  distinction  of  religion  or  of  race,  records 
his  generous  intentions  toward  the  Christian  popula- 
tion of  his  empire."  This  edict,  however,  was  not 
to  give  the  Powers,  either  collectively  or  separately, 
the  right  to  interfere  between  the  Sultan  and  his 
subjects. 

Finally,  the  treaty  reaffirmed  the  previous  trea- 
ties by  which  the  Bosphorus  and  Dardanelles  were 
closed  to  foreign  ships  of  war. 

Such  were  the  provisions  of  the  instrument  by 
which  England  flattered  herself  that  she  had  curbed 
the  ambition  and  dwarfed  the  power  of  the  "  Co- 
lossus of  the  North,"  had  extinguished  the  aspira- 
tions of  the  races  struggling  to  free  themselves 
from  the  Turkish  misrule,  and  had  propped  up  and 
invigorated  the  decaying  members  of  the  most  cor- 
rupt, intolerable,  cruel,  and  tyrannical  government 
that  has  ever  existed  in  Europe.  France,  in  general, 
cared  little  or  nothing  for  the  merits  of  the  Eastern 
question,  and  had  entered  the  war  only  for  "  glory," 
at  the  instance  of  a  political  adventurer  who  had 
placed  himself  on  the  throne  and  sought  by  foreign 
war  to  make  his  subjects  forget  how  foully  he  had 
betrayed  them. 

What  was  the  result  c  f  it  all,  this  treaty  that  was 


2/8  Arviy  Life  in  Russia. 

to  put  Eastern  affairs  on  a  new  and  permanent 
basis?  Less  than  twenty-five  years  later,  the 
French  usurper  had  been  disposed  of  ignominiously 
and  forever  in  the  fourth  and  last  of  his  foreign 
adventures  in  quest  of  "  glory  ;  "  Russia  had  torn 
up  the  clause  relating  to  the  Black  Sea,  and  had  re- 
established her  Bessarabian  frontier ;  the  territo- 
ry whose  integrity  had  been  guaranteed  had  been 
reduced  to  one-third  of  its  former  proportions  ;  the 
condition  of  its  subject  races  was  more  intolerable 
than  ever;  their  hatred  of  their  oppressors  more 
intense ;  the  Turkish  Empire  was  still  more  infirm, 
and  its  existence  was  more  than  ever  a  source  of 
danger  to  the  tranquillity  of  Europe. 

Russia,  indeed,  was  worsted  physically,  but  not 
morally,  in  the  contest  in  the  Crimea.  The  prin- 
ciples for  which  she  fought  are  living  principles, 
and  they  have  triumphed  in  this  generation  though 
defeated  in  the  last.  Even  at  this  time,  before  a 
generous,  sentimental  sympathy  for  their  co-reli- 
gionists had  taken  deep  hold  upon  the  masses  of 
the  Russian  people,  her  motives  may  well  bear  com- 
parison with  those  of  England.  No  one  pretends 
that  these  motives  were  wholly  devoid  of  self- 
interest  ;  but  what  gives  Russia  the  moral  ascend- 
ancy over  England  in  this  long  contest,  is  the  fate 
which  has  made  her  material  interests  lie  on  the 
side  of  right  and  justice,  while  those  of  England — 


The  Eastern  Question.  279 

as  Englishmen  see  fit  to  interpret  them — are  on  the 
side  of  oppression  and  wrong.  It  was  in  the  inter- 
est of  developing  the  resources  of  his  country  that 
Peter  strove  to  push  the  Turks  away  from  the 
northern  shore  of  the  Black  Sea  and  plant  his  own 
people  there ;  it  was  doubtless  an  imperial  ambition 
which  prompted  all  of  Catherine's  plans  for  south- 
ern conquest  ;  it  was  probably  for  the  benefit  of 
the  material  interests  of  his  country  that  Nicholas 
strove  to  arrange  with  England  for  the  funeral  of 
the  Turk.  But  while  Russia  was  all  this  time 
waging  war  for  material  benefits  —  as  all  strong 
nations  have  ever  done — she  was  at  the  same  time 
conferring  a  benefit  on  the  whole  Christian  world 
by  gradually  breaking  down  a  government  under 
which  no  Christian  could  live  in  safety  or  comfort, 
and  successively  emancipating  one  race  after 
another  from  the  insufferable  Turkish  rule.  It  was 
by  the  aid  of  Russia  that  Wallachia,  Moldavia, 
Servia,  and  Greece  were  all  in  turn  set  on  their  feet, 
and  allowed  to  work  out  their  own  salvation,  and 
achieve  such  measure  of  prosperity  and  happiness 
for  themselves  as  their  capabilities  would  permit. 

England,  on  the  other  hand,  has  been  the  per- 
petual objecter  and  obstructionist  throughout  the 
whole  of  this  natural  development  of  history,  which, 
however,  she  has  not  succeeded  in  greatly  retarding, 
though   her  action  has   engendered    many  hatreds 


2 So  Anny  Life  in  Russia. 

and  prolonged  much  misery.  And  to  justify  her  in 
this  course,  she  has  only  the  argument  that  by  sus- 
taining Turkey  she  puts  a  barrier  to  Russian  am- 
bition. She  has  never  ventured  to  openly  defend 
the  Turkish  system  of  government.  Candid  and  un- 
candid  Englishmen  of  all  parties  have  time  and 
again  condemned  the  extortion,  the  cruelty,  the  in- 
justice, and  the  utter  barbarity  of  the  Turkish  rule, 
but  they  have  always  maintained,  in  the  same 
breath,  that  still  greater  evils  would  follow  were 
Turkey  supplanted  by  Russia ;  for  in  that  case 
English  trade  and  commerce  would  suffer  on  the  one 
hand,  while,  on  the  other,  Russia  would  become  so 
strong  that  the  liberties  of  Europe  would  be  en- 
dangered !  The  insufficiency  of  England's  policy 
to  accomplish  its  purpose  of  maintaining  intact  the 
Turkish  Empire  is  no  less  remarkable  than  its  in- 
justice. When  Nicholas  proposed  to  come  to  terms 
about  this  long-standing  nuisance  of  the  Turk,  it 
might  have  been  expected  that  England — if  she 
deemed  his  proposition  to  be  dictated  by  selfish  in- 
terest and  a  desire  for  aggrandizement — would  have 
advanced  some  positive  solution  of  her  own,  which 
had  the  elements  of  stability  about  it,  but  would 
not  redound  to  the  advantage  of  Russia;  and  then, 
if  necessary,  have  fought  for  it,  and  established  it. 
But  she  proposed  nothing  of  the  kind  ;  she  only  de- 
manded that  the  shaky,  tottering  status  quo  should 


The  Eastern  Question.  281 

be  maintained.  If  any  one  believed,  in  1853,  that 
there  were  any  elements  of  vitality  in  the  Ottoman 
Empire,  that  any  justice  was  to  be  found  in  its  gov- 
ernment of  the  Christians,  that  any  faith  was  to  be 
placed  in  its  promises  of  reform,  surely  the  events 
of  the  succeeding  twenty-five  years  must  have  been 
enough  to  undeceive  him.  Nobody  really  did  be- 
lieve it  then,  any  more  than  now;  but  in  1878,  as  in 
1856,  England  is  still  insisting  on  the  maintenance 
of  the  status  quo  (what  is  left  of  it),  still  accepting 
Turkish  promises,  still  refusing  to  face  the  inevi- 
table and  frame  some  plan  for  the  regeneration  of 
the  East  which  shall  insure  justice  to  the  governed, 
protect  her  own  interests,  and  prevent  those  of 
Russia  from  having  undue  prominence.  Before  this 
great  problem,  English  statesmanship  has  seemed  to 
be  powerless ;  no  one  has  ever  proposed  any  scheme 
which  could  secure  the  support  of  even  a  respect- 
able minority  of  his  countrymen.  As  Russia  ad- 
vances and  Turkey  totters,  England  puts  another 
prop  under  her — loans  her  more  money,  fights  her 
battles,  secretly  aids  her,  gives  her  advice,  and  not 
infrequently  illusory  promises;  but  the  only  plan 
she  has  heretofore  had,  with  which  to  oppose 
Russia,  is  Turkey  as  it  is.  With  every  generation, 
in  spite  of  England's  aid,  this  Turkey  becomes  less: 
in  1829,  it  was  Greece  and  the  Danubian  principali- 
ties that  dropped  off;   in  1878,  it  was  Bulgaria ;   in 


282  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

another  generation  it  will  be  Roumelia  and  Con- 
stantinople itself. 

If  the  English  policy  remains  unchanged,  the  sick 
man,  as  Nicholas  warned  them,  will  die  on  their 
hands  while  they  are  still  making  plans  for  his  "  in- 
tegrity and  independence."  The  most  that  can  be 
said  of  England's  policy  in  the  East,  is  that  it  has 
been  an  obstinate  effort  to  stave  off  the  inevitable, 
and  to  throw  the  solution  of  a  great  problem  ever 
upon  the  shoulders  of  the  next  succeeding  genera- 
tion. 

England  vastly  underestimated  the  pride  of  her 
antagonist  if  she  imagined  that  she  would  remain 
quiet  under  such  a  humiliating  treaty  more  than 
long  enough  to  gather  strength  to  destroy  it.  Eng- 
land, therefore,  took  the  responsibility  of  standing 
ready  to  defend  her  treaty  at  all  times  by  force  of 
arms — as  Germany  stands  ready  to  defend  the  set- 
tlement she  made  in  1870 — or  else  she  would  in- 
evitably be  obliged  to  withdraw  from  the  position 
she  had  assumed.  It  has  never  been  possible  to 
bring  the  majority  of  Englishmen  up  to  the  point  of 
making  war  in  defense  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  and 
England  has  therefore  had  perforce  to  accept  the 
alternative  of  allowing  the  treaty  and  its  principles 
to  be  destroyed. 

The  treaty  was  but  four  years  old  when,  in  the 
spring  of   i860.  Prince  Gortschakoff,  after  consulta- 


The  Easteryi  Question.  283 

tion  with  the  ambassadors  in  St.  Petersburg,  ad- 
dressed a  circular  note  to  the  signatory  Powers,  in 
which  he  called  attention  to  the  reports  of  Russian 
consuls  in  Turkey,  showing  that  the  grossest  mis- 
government  and  injustice  were  practised  by  the 
local  governors  in  Bosnia,  Herzegovnia,  and  Bul- 
garia ;  far  from  the  Treaty  of  Paris  being  carried  out 
by  putting  into  effect  the  promises  of  the  Hatti- 
Hiwiayoiim,  these  reports  showed  that  the  con- 
dition of  the  subject  races  in  those  provinces  was 
becoming  worse  and  worse.  The  circular,  therefore, 
invited  the  Great  Powers  to  take  the  matter  into 
serious  consideration,  to  verify  the  reports  of  the 
Russian  consuls,  and  to  exercise  the  powers  of 
mediation  provided  for  in  the  treaty  in  case  any  of 
its  provisions  should  be  disregarded.  The  circular 
went  on  to  say  that  Europe  having  decided  that 
the  maintenance  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  was  neces- 
sary for  its  tranquillity,  it  was  of  the  highest  import- 
ance to  the  Porte,  no  less  than  to  Europe,  that  a 
"  real,  serious,  and  durable  amelioration  "  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  Christians  should  be  effected. 

The  reports  of  the  Russian  consuls  were  fully 
verified  by  those  of  England  and  the  other  Powers, 
but  no  further  steps  were  taken  under  this  call,  for, 
before  the  year  was  ended,  still  more  serious  dis- 
turbances broke  out  in  Syria.  Something  over  fifteen 
thousand  people  having  been  massacred,  the   Great 


284  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

Powers  for  once  agreed  to  take  the  matter  firmly  in 
hand,  and  dispatched  an  English  and  a  French  com- 
missioner, backed  with  a  French  land  force  and  an 
English  fleet,  to  restore  order.  The  Pasha  who  was 
the  ringleader  in  the  massacres  was  hanged,  a  con- 
stitution was  drawn  up  by  Lord  Dufferin  for  the 
government  of  the  Lebanon,  and  the  Porte,  upon 
objecting  to  it  on  the  ground  of  its  independence 
being  encroached  upon,  was  simply  informed  that 
the  French  troops  would  remain  in  Syria  until  it 
was  accepted.  This  small  show  of  force  and  of 
united  action  was  all  that  was  needed  to  compel  the 
Porte  to  submit.  The  constitution  was  adopted,  the 
French  troops  remained  long  enough  for  it  to  get 
in  working  order,  and  there  has  been  tranquillity  in 
Syria  ever  since. 

Six  years  later  occurred  another  of  the  chronic 
insurrections  against  the  insufferable  tyranny  of  the 
Ottoman  government.  This  time  it  was  in  Crete. 
The  Powers  immediately  took  note  of  it — Austria 
proposing  that  the  Treaty  of  Paris  should  be  revised, 
and  the  Christian  populations  be  taken  under  the 
united  protection  of  Europe,  and  endowed  with  a 
certain  measure  of  local  self-government ;  France 
seconded  this,  and  proposed  that  Crete  should  be 
ceded  to  Greece  ;  Russia  was  of  the  same  opinion, 
and  advised  that  the  only  escape  from  the  series  of 
makeshifts  which  had  been  so  long  and  ineffectually 


The  Eastern  Question.  285 

tried,  was  in  "  the  gradual  development  of  autono- 
mous states"  out  of  the  subject  races  of  Turkey. 
All  the  Great  Powers  were  united  in  the  advisability 
of  such  joint  action  as  had  been  taken  in  Syria,  ex- 
cepting only  England.  She  refused  to  take  part  in 
any  such  plan,  and  in  its  place  succeeded  in  impos- 
ing on  the  Cretans  a  new  constitution,  and  a  new 
series  of  promises,  devised  by  the  Turks.  This  has 
proved  as  ineffectual  as  might  have  been  anticipated, 
and  under  it  the  Cretans  have  continued  in  a  more 
or  less  chronic  state  of  revolt  to  this  day. 

In  1870  two  of  the  Powers  that  had  forced  the 
Treaty  of  Paris  upon  Russia  were  engaged  in  a 
great  war.  Russia  then  did  what  any  other  great 
nation  would  do  which  had  been  similarly  humili- 
ated and  felt  herself  strong  enough  to  resent  it  : 
she  took  advantage  of  the  condition  of  affairs  to 
nullify  the  most  humiliating  feature  of  the  treaty. 
In  a  circular-note  dated  October  31,  1870,  Prince 
Gortschakoff  informed  the  Powers  that  Russia  would 
no  longer  consider  herself  bound  by  that  article  of 
the  treaty  which  "  neutralized "  the  Black  Sea. 
England,  as  her  Prime  Minister  announced  in  Parli- 
ment,  found  herself  without  an  ally  to  support  this 
article  by  force.  She  was  therefore  compelled  to 
yield,  and  on  March  13,  1871,  a  convention  was 
signed  at  London  which  provided  that  the  article 
(No.  xiv.)  relating  to  the  Black  Sea  "  is  abrogated." 


286        ^  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

The  most  essential  of  the  safeguards  provided  by 
the  Treaty  of  Paris  against  Russian  ambition,  and 
the  most  humiHating  of  all  the  insuUs  contained 
in  that  treaty,  were  thus  formally  renounced  and 
withdrawn  by4;heir  authors  just  fifteen  years  after 
they  had  been  formulated. 

Four  years  later,  in  1875,  the  insurrections  broke 
out  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  and  ushered  in  the 
series  of  events  which  brought  about  the  late  war 
and  all  its  attendant  consequences. 

When  these  disturbances  broke  out,  Austria,  as 
being  the  nation  most  nearly  interested,  took  the 
lead  in  proposing  to  the  Great  Powers  to  initiate 
certain  steps  which  would  lead  to  a  pacification  of 
the  locality,  substantially  on  the  same  principle  as 
that  adopted  in  the  Lebanon  in  1861.  The  proposals 
were  drawn  up  in  what  is  known  as  the  "  Andrassy 
note,"  which  was  addressed  to  the  various  Powers 
on  December  30,  1875. 

The  terms  of  this  document  are  well  known  ;  they 
were  summarized  as  follows: 

"  I.  Complete  liberty  of  worship. 

"  2.  Reform  in  the  system  of  taxation. 

"  3.  Sale  of  waste  lands  to  needy  inhabitants. 

"  4.  Mixed  commissions  in  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina to  supervise  the  reforms. 

"  5.  Granting  of  funds  for  works  of  public  utility." 

All   the  Great  Powers  gave  their  assent  to  this 


The  Eastern  Question.  287 

note  in  principle,  and  all  of  them  except  England 
showed  that  they  meant  what  they  said  by  propos- 
ing to  have  the  Porte  enter  into  a  definite  and  ex- 
plicit agreement  to  carry  out  the  remedies  which 
they  suggested.  But  Lord  Derby,  then  Secretary 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  wrote  a  long  dispatch  to  the 
English  ambassador,  criticising  and  condemning 
every  proposition  in  the  note,  and  then  authorizing 
the  ambassador  to  give  "  a  general  support  to 
Count  Andrassy's  proposals,  but  confine  himself 
to  oral  communications." 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  Porte  accepted 
the  note  with  great. pleasure,  promised  to  follow  the 
advice  it  contained,  and  issued  the  customary  proc- 
lamation. It  thanked  England  with  considerable 
effusiveness  for  its  kindness,  and  then  let  the  whole 
matter  drop  at  once.  But  the  other  Powers  were  by 
no  means  satisfied  to  have  their  purpose  so  complete- 
ly frustrated.  The  insurrection  continued  in  Bosnia, 
and  early  in  May  the  Consuls  of  France  and  Ger- 
many were  murdered  in  Salonica.  A  few  days  later 
the  Chancellors  of  the  three  empires  met  in  Ber- 
lin, and  after  exchanging  their  ideas,  they  drafted 
a  second  document  known  as  the  Berlin  Memoran- 
dum. This  recited  that  such  outrages  as  those  at  Sa- 
lonica could  only  be  prevented  by  sending  men-of- 
war  to  the  threatened  localities,  and  providing  their 
commanding  officers  with   identical   instructions   as 


288  Ar7iiy  Life  i)i  Russia. 

to  the  manner  in  which  they  should  use  .their  force. 
But  this  would  only  be  a  temporary  expedient, 
unless  the  cause  of  all  these  agitations  should  be  re- 
moved by  the  prompt  pacification  of  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovnia.       By    accepting    the   Andrassy  note, 

the  Porte  had  incurred  an  obligation  to  Europe  to 
carry,  out  its  provisions;  this  note,  however,  had 
failed  to  accomplish  any  purpose,  because  the  insur- 
gents refused  to  trust  the  unendorsed  promises  of 
the  Porte,  and  the  Porte  had  failed  to  carry  its  pro- 
visions into  effect.  The  Powers  should  therefore 
come  to  an  agreement  as  to  the  guaranties  neces- 
sary to  insure  the  fulfillment  of  the  promises  made 
by  the  Porte  to  Europe.  The  first  essential  should 
be  an  armistice  of  two  months;  during  this  time, 
negotiations  could  be  conducted  between  the  Porte 
and  the  Bosnian  delegates,  on  the  basis  of  furnish- 
ing the  refugees  with  materials  for  rebuilding  their 
houses,  under  the  supervision  of  a  mixed  commis- 
sion ;  the  Turkish  troops  to  be  concentrated  at  a 
few  specified  points ;  the  Christians  as  well  as  the 
Mussulmans  to  retain  their  arms,  and  the  foreign 
consuls  to  "  watch  over  the  application  of  the  re- 
forms in  general,  and  the  steps  relative  to  repatria- 
tion in  particular."  If,  with  the  aid  of  the  Great  Pow- 
ers, a  definite  agreement  could  be  made  between  the 
Porte  and  the  insurgents  on  this  basis,  and  put  im- 
mediately into  effect,  a  great  step  would  be  made 


TJic  Eastern  Question.  289 

toward  pacification.  But  if  these  efforts  should 
fail  to  accomplish  their  purpose,  then  it  would  be 
necessary  for  the  Powers  to  "  supplement  their  dip- 
lomatic action  by  the  sanction  of  an  agreement, 
looking  to  such  efficacious  measures  as  might  appear 
to  be  demanded  in  the  interest  of  a  general  peace." 
In  other  words,  if  advice  failed,  then  more  forcible 
measures  must  be  employed,  as  they  had  been  in  1 860. 
This  memorandum  certainly  contained  a  positiv^c 
plan  of  action,  which  would,  for  the  time  being, 
have  put  an  end  to  the  insurrection,  and  have  pre- 
vented the  outbreak  of  a  war,  which  otherwise 
seemed  inevitable,  and  in  which  Turkey  was  surely 
doomed  to  sufTer,  unless  she  found  strong  allies. 
France  and  Italy  hastened  to  agree  to  it,  but,  to  the 
surprise  and  regret  of  every  one,  England  positively 
refused  to  assent  to  it  in  any  manner  whatever.  What 
were  her  motives,  is  a  mere  matter  of  speculation, 
for  her  cabinet  declined  to  explain  them  further 
than  to  denounce  every  article  of  the  memorandum 
as  being  either  an  infringement  on  Turkish  inde- 
pendence, or  a  sacrifice  which  it  was  unable  to  bear. 
Austria,  Germany,  France,  and  Italy  all  in  turn 
pressed  England  to  accept  the  memorandum,  or  to 
suggest  any  modifications  she  might  desire  in  its 
language.  She  declined  to  do  cither.  They  then 
asked  Lord  Derby  if   he  had   any  proposition  of  his 

own  to  make,  and  he  replied  none.    "  Her  Majesty's 
13 


290  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

Government  deprecated  the  diplomatic  action  of 
the  other  Powers  in  the  affairs  of  the  Ottoman  Em- 
pire." Russia  then  asked  what  was  the  drift  of 
England's  policy  ;  what  were  her  ideas  in  the  mat- 
ter? To  which  Lord  Derby  rephed,  that  he  thought 
nothing  remained  but  to  let  the  struggle  continue 
until  success  should  declare  itself  on  one  side  or  the 
other.  In  other  words,  in  British  phrase,  form  a 
ring  and  let  'em  fight  it  out  with  the  usual  result  of 
indiscriminate  slaughter  and  pillage  which  ever  fol- 
lows a  case  of  fighting  out  an  insurrection  in  Tur- 
key. But  the  other  five  Powers  were  really  desirous 
to  bring  about  some  permanent  solution  of  the 
matter.  They  determined  to  leave  England  alone, 
and  to  present  their  views  to  the  Porte  without  her 
concurrence.  Their  representatives,  therefore,  met 
at  the  German  Embassy  in  Constantinople  on  the 
afternoon  of  ]\Iay  29,  1876,  and  drafted  a  form  of 
communication  which  contained  the  terms  of  the 
Berlin  memorandum,  and  which,  in  identically  the 
same  language,  was  to  be  presented  by  each  of  them 
to  the  Porte  on  the  following  morning.  During 
that  very  night,  however,  the  Sultan  was  deposed  ; 
in  the  morning  there  was  a  new  Sultan,  and  no 
diplomatic  intercourse  could  be  carried  on  until  he 
had  been  recognized,  and  other  formalities  gone 
through  with.  The  new  Sultan  only  remained  on 
the  throne  about  three  months,  but  before  he  was 


The  Eastern  Question.  291 

fairly  installed  the  massacres  had  occurred  in  Bul- 
garia, and  Servia  had  declared  war  ;  the  problem 
had  attained  far  greater  proportions  than  the  mere 
question  of  the  Bosnian  refugees,  and  the  Berlin 
memorandum  was  entirely  inadequate  to  meet  it. 
So  it  was  never  presented  to  the  Porte. 

It  is  quite  needless  to  recount  the  savage  manner 
in  which  the  feeble  insurrection  in  Bulgaria  was 
put  down  by  the  Bashi-Bazouks  under  Chefkct 
Pasha.  The  horrible  tale  of  the  human  heads  piled 
up  among  the  smoldering  ruins  of  Batak  is  too 
fresh  to  have  been  forgotten  by  even  the  most 
casual  reader.  Its  political  bearing  is  stated  with 
remarkable  accuracy  by  Sir  Henry  Elliot  in  his  well- 
known  letter,  in  which  he  says  '*  that  the  interests  of 
England  are  deeply  engaged  in  preventing  a  dis- 
ruption of  the  Turkish  Empire,  is  a  conviction 
which  I  share  in  common  with  the  most  eminent 
statesmen  who  have  directed  our  foreign  policy, 
but  which  appears  now  to  be  abandoned  by  shallow 
politicians  or  persons  who  have  allowed  their  feel- 
ings of  revolted  humanity  to  make  them  forget  the 
capital  interests  involved  in  the  question. 

"We  may  and  must  feel  indignant  at  the  needless 
and  monstrous  severity  with  which  the  Bulgarian 
insurrection  was  put  down;  but  the  necessity  which 
exists  for  England  to  prevent  changes  from  occur- 
ring here  which  would  be  most  detrimental  to  our- 


292  Arviy  Life  in  Russia. 

selves,  is  not  affected  by  the  question  whether  it 
was  ten  thousand  or  twenty  thousand  persons  who 
perished  in  its  suppression. 

"  We  have  been  upholding  what  we  know  to  be  a 
semi-civilized  nation,  liable  under  certain  circum- 
stances to  be  carried  into  fearful  excesses ;  but  the 
fact  of  this  having  just  now  been  strikingly  brought 
home  to  us  all,  cannot  be  a  sufficient  reason  for 
abandoning  a  policy  which  is  the  only  one  that  can 
be  followed  with  due  regard  to  our  interests." 

These  words  may  seem  cruel  and  cold-blooded ; 
but  if  the  premises  are  granted — that  English  inter- 
ests demand  the  maintenance  of  the  Turkish  Em- 
pire— their  logical  sequence  cannot  be  refuted.  It 
is  true  that  many  people  in  England  still  hugged 
the  delusion  that  misrule,  extortion,  and  massacre 
were  not  the  necessary  accompaniments  of  the  Turk's 
rule ;  but  they  cherished  this  delusion  in  the  very 
face  of  all  the  facts  of  Turkish  history.  In  1825 
the  massacres  in  Greece  had  been  no  less  revolting 
and  extensive  than  those  in  Bulgaria  in  1876.  In 
i860  it  had  been  the  same  in  Syria.  The  whole 
course  of  Turkish  history,  from  the  time  when 
Bajazet  had  all  the  prisoners  taken  at  Nicopolis  in 
1396  massacred  before  his  eyes,  has  been  full  of  just 
such  incidents  ;  but  in  the  last  fifty  years  they  have 
been  so  notorious  and  well  authenticated  that  there 
has  been  no  excuse  for  not  knowing  and  believing 


The  Eastern  Question.  293 

them.  Yet  England,  having  all  these  facts  before 
her,  has,  ever  since  the  battle  of  Navarino,  been 
engaged  in  maintaining  and  assuring  the  integrity 
of  that  very  government  under  which  alone  they 
are  possible,  and  all  this  time  has  been  accepting 
promise  after  promise  of  reform  in  the  treatment  of 
the  Christians,  not  one  of  which  has  been  kept. 

On  the  other  hand,  Sir  Henry  Elliot — and  he 
represents  a  large  class  in  England,  though  none  of 
them  have  been  so  candid  or  so  incautious  as  to 
express  their  views  so  clearly  as  himself — has  no 
delusions  about  the  nature  of  Turkish  government ; 
he  knows  it  thoroughly,  and  fully  appreciates  its 
wickedness,  but  he  considers  it  necessary  to  uphold 
that  government  in  spite  of  its  sins ;  he  weighs  the 
interests  of  British  trade  against  the  lives  of  the 
Christian  subjects  of  the  Porte,  and  declares  the 
former  to  have  the  greater  value.  His  policy  is 
harsh  ;  compared  with  it,  the  much-talkcd-of  rule  of 
"  blood  and  iron  "  is  mildness  itself ;  but  it  is  con- 
sistent, and  he  rightly  says  that  if  any  questions  of 
humanity  are  to  become  mingled  with  it,  it  at  once 
loses  all  its  force,  and  becomes  the  mere  makeshift 
of  shallow  politicians. 

But  the  English  public  was  by  no  means  so  cool- 
headed  and  consistent  as  Sir  Henry.  A  storm  of 
indignant  wrath  went  from  one  end  of  England  to 
the  other,  crying  out  that  such  damnable  outrages 


294  Arviy  Life  in  Russia. 

should  cease,  with  the  destruction  of  the  govern- 
ment which  permitted  them  if  no  other  means 
were  efficacious.  The  cabinet  were  powerless  before 
this  storm.  Though  England  was  the  author  of  the 
treaty  which  upheld  this  atrocious  government,  yet 
the  indignation  was  none  the  less  great.  The  pol- 
icy of  active  support,  which  there  is  good  ground 
for  believing  the  head  of  the  cabinet  desired  to 
follow,  and  the  policy  of  do  nothing  but  let  them 
fight  it  out,  which  the  Foreign  Secretary  openly  ad- 
vocated, were  both  paralyzed.  It  was  necessary  to 
do  something,  and  that  shortly. 

Nor  was  England  the  only  country  which  w^as  in- 
dignant on  the  subject.  In  Russia  the  whole  mass  of 
the  people,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  grades, 
were  stirred  to  the  very  depths  of  their  souls  by  the 
murder  of  their  fellow-Slavs  and  co-religionists. 
They  cried  out  for  vengeance  at  once  ;  but  as  their 
Tsar  insisted  on  trying  all  the  peaceful  methods  be- 
fore resorting  to  war,  they  could  do  nothing  to 
show  their  sympathy  but  send  volunteers  to  join 
the  Servians,  who  had  just  declared  war  against  the 
Porte,  in  behalf  of  their  Bulgarian  fellow-subjects. 
Other  nations  were  only  less  indignant,  but  feeling 
less  immediate  interest  in  the  subject  than  Russia 
and  England,  they  limited  themselves  to  seconding 
the  proposals  of  those  countries.  Austria,  indeed, 
which  had  taken  the  lead  in  all  the  diplomatic  steps 


The  Eastern  Question.  295 

of  the  past  year,  now  had  her  hand  stayed  by  the 
Magyar  portion  of  her  population,  and  was  obliged 
to  remain  in  the  background.  But  there  was  prac- 
tical unanimity  among  all  the  great  nations,  and  a 
universal  desire  that  measures  should  be  taken 
which  would  afford  an  effective  guaranty  for  good 
government,  or  at  least  common  justice,  in  Turkey. 
A  great  and  unique  opportunity  was  then  offered 
to  England  to  depart  from  her  past  policy,  which 
had  certainly  failed  to  accomplish  its  purpose,  and 
to  enter  upon  a  new  one  which  should  have  a  more 
substantial  basis  than  propping  up  the  decayed 
members  of  an  almost  lifeless  state.  The  enormity 
and  authenticity  of  the  crimes  which  had  just  been 
committed  were  ample  warrant  for  any  change  of 
policy,  or  the  abrogation  of  any  treaty.  Had  a 
Liberal  administration  been  in  power,  it  is  probable 
that  it  would  have  seized  this  opportunity  to  put 
into /r^^/zV^/ operation  that  principle  of  local  self- 
government  and  the  extension  of  the  area  of 
autonomous  states  which  was  formulated  at  the 
Conference  a  few  months  later.  But  there  was  one 
cardinal  measure  which  must  be  employed,  or  else 
all  steps  would  be  useless  and  end  in  nothing. 
That  measure  was  the  use  of  force.  All  Turkish 
history  shows  that  it  is  by  the  question  of  force 
alone  that  the  Turks  gauge  the  intentions  of  the 
people  with  whom    they  deal.     Without    force    to 


296  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

make  good  their  wishes,  the  Turks  look  upon 
treaties,  promises,  edicts,  and  diplomatic  corre- 
spondence, as  a  mere  Jen  cf esprit,  in  which  they 
have  always  been  masters,  very  engaging  for  the 
moment,  but  having  no  relation  to  practical  affairs. 
The  advice  which  Europe  was  to  give  to  Turkey 
must  be  accompanied  with  a  concerted  show  of 
force,  ready  to  be  freely  used  if  necessary,  and 
sufficiently  great  to  convince  the  Turks  that  the 
advice  was  seriously  meant ;  otherwise  the  Turks 
would  pay  no  more  attention  to  it  than  to  make 
polite  answers,  and  issue  fresh  proclamations. 

This  statement  is  warranted  by  the  history  of  the 
achievement  of  Greek  independence,  which  the 
Turks  laughed  at  in  1827,  but  acknowledged  after 
the  war  of  1829,  by  the  readiness  with  which  they 
accepted  the  interference  in  the  affairs  of  Syria  in 
1 86 1,  which  was  supported  by  armed  power,  and  by 
their  total  disregard  of  the  provisions  of  the  Hatti- 
Humayoiim,  whose  execution  rested  on  their 
promise  alone.  It  is  also  warranted  by  human 
nature  itself,  for  no  government,  whether  good  or 
bad,  yields  to  advice  concerning  its  own  internal  af- 
fairs, unless  compelled  to  do  so  by  force. 

But  at  this  critical  juncture  England  did  not 
have  a  Liberal  administration,  but  one  led  by  a 
statesman  whose  imperial  ambitions  were  far  more 
vast  than    those  of  Catherine,  and  who  never  has 


TJie  Eastern   Question.  297 

been  troubled  by  scruples  of  humanity,  or  any  other 
scruples,  in  the  employment  of  means  to  gain  his 
end.  This  cabinet  invited  the  other  Powers  to 
meet  in  a  conference  at  Constantinople,  believing 
that  this  was  the  surest  method  to  defeat  the  wishes 
of  Russia,  who  was  anxious  to  march  a  force  into 
Bulgaria  to  restore  and  maintain  order;  but  at  the 
same  time  it  adopted  a  course  which  was  sure  to 
prevent  the  deliberations  of  this  conference  from 
having  any  practical  result  ;  that  is,  it  opposed 
most  strenuously  that  very  idea  of  the  use  of  force 
or  a  show  of  force  which  alone  could  give  any  effect 
to  the  advice  of  the  conference.  Throughout  the 
whole  series  of  Lord  Derby's  dispatches  during 
1876  and  1877,  there  ran  this  double  idea:  inform 
the  Turks  that  England  will  not  come  to  their  aid 
if  attacked,  but  inform  them  also  at  the  same  time, 
that  Encrland  will  not  sanction  any  coercive  mcas- 
urcs  against  them. 

The  Turks  expressed  their  thanks  with  a  due 
sense  of  gratitude,  and  thenceforth  knew  how  to 
shape  their  course  with  that  diplomatic  address  in 
which  they  have  few  equals. 

The  conference  met  at  Constantinople  on  the 
nth  of  December;  the  Turks  were  not  invited  to 
be  present  until  the  other  Powers  had  agreed  upon 
what  they  had  to  offer.  The  presiding  officer  an- 
nounccd  the  object  of  the  conference  to  be,  to  dc- 
13* 


298  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

tcrmine  first  the  conditions  of  peace  between  Tur- 
key and  Servia  and  Montenegro,  and  second,  "  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  administrative  systems 
which  should  be  applied  to  Bosnia,  Herzegovnia, 
and  Bulgaria,  and  the  guaranties  necessary  to  in- 
sure their  effectual  execution." 

Lord  Salisbury  and  General  Ignatief  took  the 
lead  in  the  deliberations,  and  they  soon  agreed 
upon  the  terms  of  peace,  and  the  extent  of  the 
provinces  to  be  formed  within  which  the  new  form 
of  local  self-government,  the  nature  of  which  was 
given  in  considerable  detail,  was  to  be  applied.  Its 
most  essential  provisions  were  Christian  governors, 
nominated  for  five  years  with  the  approval  of 
foreign  Powers,  an  international  commission  to 
supervise  the  introduction  of  the  new  system,  and  a 
small  force  of  some  disinterested  Power,  such  as 
Belgium,  to  act  as  escort  to  the  commission,  and 
give  effect  to  its  opinion. 

The  representatives  of  the  foreign  Powers  hav- 
ing agreed  upon  the  proposals  they  v/ould  make  to 
the  Porte,  the  Turkish  representatives  were  invited 
to  be  present,  and  the  first  full  meeting  of  the 
Conference  was  held  on  the  23d  of  December  un- 
der the  presidency  of  the  Turkish  plenipotentiary. 
The  session  was  short,  and  toward  its  close  occurred 
an  incident  which  is  thus  recorded  in  the  minutes 
of  the  proceedings : 


The  Eastern  Question.  299 

"At  this  moment  salvoes  of  artillery  are  heard. 
The  President  of  the  Conference  states  that  these 
salvoes  announce  the  promulgation  of  the  Otto- 
man Constitution.  '  A  great  act,'  he  says,  '  whicli 
is  at  this  moment  being  accomplished,  has  just 
changed  a  form  of  government  which  had  lasted 
six  hundred  years.  The  Constitution  with  which 
his  Majesty  the  Sultan  has  endowed  his  empire,  is 
promulgated.  It  inaugurates  a  new  era  for  the 
happiness  and  prosperity  of  his  people.' " 

One  cannot  but  admire  the  dexterity  of  this 
stroke,  and  the  infinite  resource  of  the  Turks.  It 
might  have  been  supposed  that  in  forty  years  they 
had  exhausted  their  stock  of  proclamations  and 
edicts,  which  contained  promises  and  schemes  of 
government  enough  to  make  Turkey  the  most  pros- 
perous and  happy  country  in  the  world — had  they 
been  really  carried  out.  Every  conceivable  prin- 
ciple of  justice  had  in  succession  been  announced 
in  these  various  Hatts  and  Firmans,  and  it  was 
difficult  to  see  how  anything  new  of  that  descrip- 
tion could  be  offered.  But  the  Turks  were  equal  to 
the  emergency.  Knowing  that  they  had  no  hope 
of  influencing  any  of  the  nations  except  England, 
they  devised  a  new  proclamation,  appealing  pecu- 
liarly to  her  sensibilities  as  the  author  f)f  representa- 
tive government.  Midhat  Pasha  li.ul  framed  a 
whole  Constitution  of  no  less  than  one  hundred  and 


300  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

nineteen  articles,  the  essential  feature  of  which  was 
a  Parliament,  consisting  of  a  Senate  whose  members 
were  appointed  by  the  Sultan,  and  a  House  of 
Deputies  whose  members  were  to  be  elected  by 
the  people  in  secret  ballot,  the  manner  of  the 
election  to  be  determined  by  a  subsequent  special 
law. 

The  card  was  well  played  ;  though  it  had  but  lit- 
tle effect  on  the  Conference,  it  took  very  well  in 
England,  where  certain  Tory  papers  were  soon 
speaking  of  Turkey  as  that  enlightened  country 
which  was  endowed  with  representative  government, 
and  which  was  so  far  in  advance  in  civilization  of 
Russia,  which  was  ruled  by  an  Asiatic  and  barbar- 
ous despotism  !  So  easy  is  it  to  confuse  matters  if 
only  the  names  of  things  are  used,  and  not  the  acts 
which  are  done  in  those  names. 

The  history  of  this  Constitution  is  soon  told.  Its 
author,  Midhat  Pasha,  remained  in  power  a  little 
over  a  year,  and  was  then  overthrown  and  banished 
from  his  country  as  being  its  greatest  enemy.  The 
Parliament  held  two  sessions,  one  beginning  in 
March,  and  the  other  in  December,  1877.  It  exer- 
cised its  privilege  of  criticism  with  no  little  free- 
dom, succeeded  in  overturning  several  ministries, 
alarmed  the  Sultan  at  one  time  so  greatly  as  to 
cause  him  to  cross  into  Asia,  and  was  finally  dis- 
solved  in   February,  1878;  several  of  the  deputies 


Tiie  Eastern  Question.  301 

being  ordered  to  leave  Constantinople  forthwith,  but 
forbidden  to  return  to  their  own  homes.  Since 
that  time  neither  the  Parliament  nor  the  Constitu- 
tion has  been  heard  of. 

When  the  Turkish  plenipotentiaries  had  carefully 
read  the  propositions  which  the  Conference  sub- 
mitted to  them,  they  replied  in  the  next  meeting 
that  some  of  them,  such  as  the  appointment  of  the 
Governors  by  foreign  advice,  positively  could  not 
be  accepted  ;  but  that  the  whole  scheme  was  un- 
necessary, for  the  Sultan  had  now,  by  his  own  voli- 
tion, granted  a  Constitution  which  secured  the  wel- 
fare of  all  his  subjects  in  the  most  complete  manner. 
But  the  Conference  was  not  to  be  so  easily  entrap- 
ped as  had  been  that  of  1856,  and  Lord  Salisbury 
remarked  that  it  had  not  met  to  take  cognizance 
of  Turkish  promises,  but  to  frame  some  positive 
scheme  of  relief  for  the  disturbed  provinces.  Foiled 
in  their  intentions  to  evade  the  whole  subject  by 
means  of  their  new  Constitution,  the  Turks  now 
submitted  a  counter-project,  and  for  the  next  three 
weeks  the  discussion  went  on  in  the  hope  of  recon- 
ciling the  two  schemes.  The  foreign  representa- 
tives constantly  receded  from  one  after  another  of 
their  demands,  until  only  the  outline  (A  them  re- 
mained ;  but  this  outline  contained  two  very  essen- 
tial features,  viz.,  that  the  Governors  should  be 
chosen  with   the  consent  of   the   other  Powers,  and 


302  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

that  an  International  Commission  should  supervise 
the  execution  of  the  reforms.  To  both  of  these 
propositions  the  Turks  positively  refused  to  accede, 
on  the  ground  that  they  were  fundamentally  op- 
posed to  that  independence  of  the  Ottoman  Empire 
which  was  guaranteed  by  treaty,  and  which  the 
English  instructions  had  named  as  the  first  and 
most  essential  of  the  bases  for  the  deliberations  of 
the  Conference. 

Having  warned  the  Turks  that  the  responsibility 
of  their  acts  must  rest  on  their  own  heads,  the  Con- 
ference broke  up  on  the  20th  of  January,  1877,  and 
its  members  as  well  as  the  regular  ambassadors  quit- 
ted Constantinople  without  delay. 

It  had  all  come  to  naught  from  just  one  cause — the 
refusal  of  England  to  join  the  other  Powers  in  en- 
forcing their  demands  by  arms,  or  at  least  by  a 
well-supported  threat  of  war. 

The  Russian  plenipotentiary  had  been  instructed 
to  propose  to  the  Conference  that  the  most  effectual 
guaranties  for  the  execution  of  the  reforms  would 
be  found  in  the  occupation  of  Bosnia  by  an  Austrian 
force,  of  Bulgaria  by  a  Russian  force,  and  of  the 
Bosphorus  by  the  combined  fleets  of  the  six  Powers; 
or  in  the  naval  demonstration  alone,  if  the  land  oc- 
cupation was  objected  to.  The  land  occupation 
found  no  advocates,  but  the  naval  demonstration 
was   acceptable  to  all  the  Powers  except  England. 


TJie  Eastern  Question.  303 

But  on  this  point  Lord  Derby's  instructions  were 
most  explicit  that  "  Her  Majesty's  government 
would  not  be  prepared  to  employ  measures  of  ac- 
tive coercion  to  extort  the  consent  of  Turkey  to 
the  proposals  which  had  been  drawn  up  at  Con- 
stantinople." 

With  such  intentions,  it  is  difficult  to  understand 
what  it  was  hoped  to  gain  by  the  Conference.  Any 
proposals  of  effective  reform,  coming  from  the  re- 
presentatives of  other  Powers  assembled  in  their 
own  capital,  must  necessarily  be  most  distasteful  to 
the  Turks.  To  expect  that  they  would  accede  to 
them  for  the  mere  asking,  was  to  suppose  them 
possessed  of  an  angelic  spirit  of  submission  which  no 
people  have  ever  shown  —  least  of  all,  a  warlike 
race  like  the  Turks,  No  nation  ever  has  or  ever 
will  accept  such  outside  interference  except  upon 
compulsion. 

But  Russia  had  already  announced  that  she  did 
not  consider  the  mere  offering  of  advice  a  satis- 
factory solution  of  the  present  condition  of  affairs. 
If  the  Porte  declined  to  accept  advice,  then  she  was 
determined  to  bring  about  an  amelioration  of  the 
fate  of  the  Christians  by  force  of  arms,  alone  if 
need  be,  or  in  conjunction  with  other  Powers  if  they 
desired  to  assist.  In  the  previous  month  of  Novem- 
ber, the  Tsar  had  announced  his  purpose  to  exhaust 
all  the  peaceful  methods  of  diplomacy  and  concert- 


304  Ar))ij'  Lift'  in  Russia. 

cd  action,  but  to  act  alone  and  by  war  if  these 
should  fail ;  and  to  show  that  he  meant  what  he 
said,  he  had  mobilized  a  considerable  portion  of  his 
army. 

The  Conference  having  ended  in  nothing,  he  made 
one  last  appeal.  lie  sent  General  Ignatief  to  the 
various  Courts  of  Europe  to  obtain  their  views  of 
what  further  could  be  done,  in  view  of  the  failure 
of  the  Conference ;  and  finally,  at  London,  on  the 
31st  of  March,  there  was  signed  a  protocol,  in  which 
the  Powers  proposed  to  Turkey  to  execute  the  re- 
forms in  its  own  manner  ;  but  they  would  watch 
their  progress  by  means  of  their  representatives  in 
Constantinople,  and  if  they  were  not  carried  out, 
they  would  "  consider  such  a  state  of  affairs  incom- 
patible with  their  interests  and  those  of  Europe  in 
general."  In  that  case,  they  reserved  to  themselves 
to  consider  what  means  would  be  necessary  to  cause 
them  to  be  carried  out.  The  Porte  made  its  answer 
on  April  loth,  declining,  without  reserve,  to  give  its 
assent  to  the  principles  contained  in  the  protocol, 
and  insisting  that  the  treaty  of  Paris  explicitly  de- 
nied to  the  Powers  the  right  to  interfere  collectively 
or  separately  in  the  relations  between  the  Sultan 
and  his  subjects. 

There  was  nothing  more  to  be  done.  All  the 
Great  Powers  had  insisted  most  urgently  that  the 
condition  and  government  of  the  subject  Christians 


The  Eastern  Question.  305 

must  be  radically  changed  ;  only  one  of  them  was 
disposed  to  make  its  wishes  effective,  but  this  one 
did  not  hesitate  in  its  task.  On  the  24th  of  April, 
1877,  the  Tsar  announced  that  all  the  resources 
of  diplomacy  had  been  exhausted,  and  that  the 
Porte  absolutely  refused  to  give  any  effective  gua- 
ranties for  those  reforms  to  which  it  was  solemnly 
boundby  previous  engagements,  and  by  which  alone 
the  Christians  in  Turkey  could  be  protected  from 
the  arbitrary  measures  of  local  authorities.  The 
moment  had  therefore  come  for  him  to  act  inde- 
pendently, and  impose  his  will  on  the  Turks  by 
force,  and  his  armies  had  been  ordered  to  cross  the 
Turkish  frontier. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  the  diplomatic  campaign 
which  had  been  carried  on  during  the  two  years 
preceding  the  war,  no  mention  had  been  made  of 
anything  but  the  affairs  of  Turkey ;  it  was  on  its 
surface  a  question  of  providing  for  good  govern- 
ment of  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Sultan.  But 
underlying  all  this  was  another  great  question — one 
of  those  jealousies  between  the  various  nations  of 
the  Christian  religion  which,  as  I  have  previously 
said,  have  complicated  the  later  development  of  the 
Eastern  question.  This  was  the  mutual  rivalry  of 
Russia  and  England  arising  from  their  Asiatic 
possessions. 

The    growth    of    the    Indian    possessions    of    the 


3o6  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

British  Crown  is  not  only  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable features  of  modern  times,  but  it  is  one 
which  has  no  rival  in  all  history.  Nothing  in  the 
history  of  Rome  ever  compared  with  it  in  vastness. 
From  a  few  trading  stations  conquered  by  the 
"  Governor  and  company  of  merchants  of  London 
trading  to  the  East  Indies,"  which  was  chartered 
by  Elizabeth  in  1600,  it  has  grown  to  be  an  empire 
of  well-nigh  two  hundred  millions  of  souls,  acknowl- 
edging allegiance  to  the  British  Crown,  and  pouring 
into  the  treasury  of  British  India  the  sum  of 
three  hundred  million  dollars  annually.  And  not 
only  for  itself  is  it  valuable,  but  because  it  repre- 
sents in  a  pre-eminent  degree  that  trade  and  com- 
merce which  are  the  foundation  of  the  present 
greatness  and  prosperity  of  England.  Deprived  of 
her  colonies  and  her  commerce,  England  would  at 
once  sink  to  the  level  of  the  smaller  states  of  Eu- 
rope, following  in  the  wake  of  Holland  and  Venice 
and  Spain,  who  in  their  days  have  been  great  and 
powerful,  but  who  have  declined  with  the  loss  of 
their  foreign  possessions  and  the  commerce  which 
they  sustained.  Fifteen  of  the  thirty-three  millions 
of  people  in  the  British  isles  to-day  subsist  on  food 
brought  from  abroad,  and  probably  twenty-five  mil- 
lions derive  their  livelihood  from  the  various  branch- 
es of  her  foreign  trade.  The  variety  and  extent  of 
her  wealth  and  power  arc  vast — Lord  Beaconsfield 


The  Eastern  Question.  307 

truly  says  that  history  may  be  searched  in  vain  for 
their  like — but  they  rest  on  commercial  credit,  and 
not  on  the  resources  of  the  British  isles  ;  and  from 
the  moment  that  the  commerce  on  which  this  credit 
is  based  receives  a  fatal  blow,  the  days  of  England's 
greatness  are  past.  No  single  event  could  strike  so 
serious  a  blow  as  the  loss  of  India.  Of  all  the  great 
possessions — it  is  hardly  a  colony — it  is  the  most 
alien  to  the  British  race,  and  it  is  held  as  a  mere 
money-making  investment.  Its  people  are  ground 
with  extortionate  taxation,  arc  allowed  no  voice  in 
their  own  affairs,  arc  treated  with  studied  scorn,  are 
made  to  pay  for  gigantic  systems  of  public  works 
for  which  their  simple  wants  have  no  necessity,  but 
which  are  of  enormous  advantage  to  their  rulers  in 
developing  the  wealth  of  the  country  for  their  own 
profit.  It  is  held  as  a  market  in  which  to  buy  cheap 
and  sell  dear,  and  as  a  place  in  which  younger  sons 
and  needy  relations  can  amass  fortunes  to  be  subse- 
quently enjoyed  in  England.  Its  loss  would  result 
in  a  financial  crisis  which  would  shake  the  whole 
fabric  of  England's  commercial  prosperity,  and  deal 
a  blow  at  her  political  prestige  from  which  she  could 
hardly  recover. 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  everything  pertaining 
to  India  is  guarded  by  England  with  the  most  jeal- 
ous  care.  Moreover,  her  rule  is  detested  from  one 
end  of  the  peninsula  to  the  other,  and   would  be 


308  Arviy  Life  in  Russia. 

thrown  off  at  the  first  opportunity.  This  uncertain- 
ty of  tenure  makes  her  see  many  imaginary  dangers, 
at  wliich  she  would  only  laugh  were  she  sure  of  the 
loyal  support  of  the  native  populations. 

The  greatest  of  these  imaginary  dangers  is  the 
idea  that  Russia  covets  the  possession  of  India  for 
herself.  This  theory  has  arisen  entirely  within  the 
last  twenty-five  years.  The  vast  acquisitions  of  ter- 
ritory made  by  Russia  since  Peter  the  Great's  time, 
and  the  suspicion  (probably  unfounded)  that  the 
mutiny  of  1857  ^'"^^  i^"^  P^^'t  due  to  Russian  in- 
trigue, have  made  Englishmen,  ever  nervous  for  the 
security  of  their  distant  and  discontented  Eastern 
possessions,  imagine  that  Russia  would  not  stop 
until  her  Asiatic  territory  reached  the  Indian  Ocean. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  Russia  has 
no  such  ambitions.  Her  frontier  has  gradually  ad- 
vanced— rapidly,  indeed,  in  the  last  fifteen  years — 
across  the  deserts  beyond  the  Caspian  and  Aral  seas, 
but  only  in  obedience  to  that  law  of  necessity  arising 
from  the  impossibility  of  maintaining  any  frontier 
with  nomadic  and  semi-civilized  people,  with  which 
our  Indian  experience  on  the  plains  has  made  us  per- 
fectly familiar.  So  soon  as  the  Russian  and  British 
frontiers  in  Asia  are  contiguous,  this  necessity  will 
cease  ;  and  if  the  two  nations  will  come  to  terms  of 
friendship,  Russia  will  have  no  more  designs  on  India 
than  she  has  on  Germany  or  Austria.     But  although 


The  Eastern  Question.  309 

Russia  does  not  covet  the  possession  of  India,  yet  if 
England  continues  to  pursue  her  with  the  same  re- 
lentless hatred  that  she  has  shown  in  the  past  fifty 
years,  then,  undoubtedly,  Russia,  in  accordance  with 
that  law  of  self-defense  which  allows  any  nation  to 
strike  its  adversary  in  its  weakest  point,  will  strike 
England  in  India;  not  by  attempting  to  take  the 
country  for  itself,  but  by  stirring  up  an  insurrection 
which  shall  exterminate  the  English  residents  and 
the  English  power.  Thus  wc  may  yet  see  the 
Eastern  question  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Indus. 

This  I  believe  to  be  the  whole  of  Russia's  inten- 
tions on  India — to  use  it  as  a  leverage  in  case  Eng- 
land should  again  attack  her  in  defense  of  the  intol- 
erable Turkish  misgovernment.  It  was  on  this  prin- 
ciple that,  when  war  with  England  seemed  inevitable 
in  the  spring  of  1878,  Russia  took  steps  to  prepare  a 
way  for  her  troops  across  Afghanistan. 

It  was  this  anxiety  about  India  that  made  Eng- 
land see  a  hidden  purpose  in  every  step  that  Russia 
took  in  regard  to  Turkey  throughout  the  whole  r»f 
the  negotiations  of  1875,  '7^'  ''^"<J  /z-  ''^"^  made  her 
refuse  to  believe  that  Russia  was  guided  by  any 
disinterested  feeling  for  the  oppressed  Christians. 
At  this  critical  period  England  was  peculiarly  sensi- 
tive on  the  subject,  for  she  had  then  a  Prime  Min- 
ister of  a  truly  oriental  imagination,  of  boundless 
ambition,  and  intensely  devoted  to  the  idea  of  de- 


0 


10  Army  Life  in  Russia. 


vcloping  closer  relations  between  England  and  her 
foreign  possessions.  He  made  the  Queen  Empress 
of  India;  he  sent  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  see  the 
country;  he  brought  Indian  troops  into  Europe. 
In  his  mind,  everything  else  was  of  secondary  im- 
portance to  the  necessity  of  strengthening  the 
security  of  these  possessions,  and  any  means  were 
justifiable  to  attain  this  end.  He  scoffed  at  the 
misery  of  the  Christians  in  Bosnia  and  Bulgaria,  and 
thwarted  every  proposition  that  might  lead  to  their 
benefit,  simply  because  they  could  not  be  really 
benefited  except  at  the  expense  of  the  Turkish 
power ;  and  the  maintenance  of  the  Turkish  power 
was,  in  his  opinion,  essential  to  the  security  of  India. 

When,  therefore,  the  last  resources  of  diplomacy 
had  been  exhausted,  and  war  followed,  his  cabinet 
promptly  declared  that  Russia  had  deliberately  vio- 
lated the  Treaty  of  Paris  in  attacking  the  integrity 
of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  but  that  England  would 
remain  neutral  so  long  as  British  interests  were  not 
attacked.  Being  pressed  for  a  definition  of  British 
interests,  the  cabinet  enumerated  specifically  four 
propositions,  a  violation  of  any  one  of  which  would 
render  it  impossible  for  England  to  remain  neutral. 
These  were  as  follows  : 

First.  The  navigation  of  the  Suez  Canal  must  not 
be  blockaded  or  interfered  with. 

Second.  Egypt  must  not  be  attacked  or  occupied. 


The  Eastern  Question.  3 1 1 

Third.  Constantinople  must  not  pass  into  any 
other  hands  than  those  of  its  present  possessors. 

Fourth,  The  existing  arrangements  concerning 
the  navigation  of  the  Bosphorus  and  the  Darda- 
nelles must  not  be  changed. 

To  the  first  two  propositions  Russia  gave  her  un- 
qualified assent.  To  the  third  she  replied  that  the 
course  of  the  war  could  not  be  foretold,  but  Russia 
had  no  intention  or  desire  to  acquire  Constantinople 
permanently.  Concerning  the  fourth  proposition, 
Russia  replied  that  she  always  desired  to  have  the 
navigation  of  the  Straits  goxcrned  by  international 
agreement.  In  general,  the  British  interests,  as 
above  defined,  would  be  respected  by  Russia  so 
long  as  England  remained  neutral. 

These  promises  were  rigidly  kept. 

To  make  these  assurances  still  more  complete, 
Prince  Gortschakoff  sent  a  dispatch  in  June  an- 
nouncing the  Emperor's  intentions  concerning  the 
war,  and  in  August  the  Emperor  requested  Colonel 
Wellesley,  the  British  military  attache  at  his  head- 
quarters, who  had  been  summoned  home  on  public 
business,  to  convey  to  the  British  cabinet  a  memo- 
randum in  which  he  stated,  witli  the  utmost  frank- 
ness, for  what  he  was  waging  war,  and  how  he 
should  conclude  it.  lie  should  demand  for  himself 
the  retrocession  of  the  piece  of  Bessarabia  taken 
away  by  the  Treaty  of  I'aris,  and  a  small  territory 


312  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

in  Asia,  but  nothing  more.  If  the  Turks  sued  for 
peace  without  forcing  him  to  cross  the  Balkans,  the 
limits  of  the  new  Bulgaria  would  be  fixed  by  those 
mountains;  if  he  was  forced  to  cross  them,  these 
limits  would  extend  much  further  to  the  south. 
The  events  of  the  war  might  compel  him  to  occupy 
Constantinople  temporarily,  but  he  had  no  intention 
to  take  permanent  possession  of  it.  He  had  no  de- 
sire or  intention  to  interfere  with  any  of  the  British 
interests  in  the  Mediterranean  or  in  India.  The 
war  was  waged  to  provide  a  good  government  for 
the  Christians  in  Turkey,  and  he  should  insist  on  a 
treaty  which  accomplished  this  purpose. 

The  British  cabinet  sent  back  by  Colonel  Welles- 
ley  a  memorandum  in  which  they  stated  that  "  they 
received  with  satisfaction  the  statement  made  by 
His  Majesty  as  to  the  object  of  the  war  in  which  he 
was  engaged,  his  disclaimer  of  any  extensive  ideas 
of  annexation,  and  his  readiness  to  enter  into  nego- 
tiations for  peace.  They  arc  grateful  for  the  assur- 
ance which  he  has  given  of  his  intention  to  respect 
the  interests  of  England."  The  cabinet  raised  no 
objection  whatever  to  any  of  the  terms  and  con- 
ditions of  peace  stated  in  Prince  Gortschakoff's 
dispatch  of  June,  or  Colonel  Wellesley's  memoran- 
dum of  August.  Yet  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano 
was  framed  on  these  very  terms  and  conditions,  not 
one   of   which    it    violated ;    and  when  this   treaty 


TJic  Eastern  Question.  313 

was  made  England  prepared  for  war.  Why  did  the 
cabinet  take  such  different  action  on  the  same  pro- 
positions? In  all  probability  because,  at  the  date 
of  their  answer  to  the  Wellesley  memorandum  (Au- 
gust 14),  Russia  had  just  received  her  second  great 
defeat  at  Plevna,  and  the  war  had  come  to  a  stand- 
still pending  the  arrival  of  re-enforcements.  Lord 
Beaconsfield  shared  the  delusion  then  current  with 
his  party,  that  Russia  would  gain  no  substantial 
success  over  the  Turks,  and  would  never  have  the 
opportunity  of  dictating  the  terms  which  the  Empe- 
ror suggested. 

The  war  then  took  its  course.  The  Turkish  re- 
sistance proved  to  be  greater  than  had  been  antici- 
pated, and  it  had  the  effect  of  storing  up  the  force 
of  the  Russian  invasion,  which  broke  forth  with  re- 
sistless momentum  on  the  fall  of  Plevna.  At  the 
end  of  January,  1878,  the  Russian  armies  were  at 
the  gates  of  Constantinople,  and  Turkey  lay,  for  the 
moment,  helpless  at  their  feet.  England  imme- 
diately ordered  her  fleet  to  proceed  to  Constanti- 
nople, without  regard  to  an}'  protcr.t  of  the  Turks 
based  upon  treaty  stipulations  in  regard  to  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Straits.  She  also  began  to  make 
other  preparations  to  be  prepared  for  any  emer- 
gency. 

The  Russians  at  once  set  to  work  to  negotiate  a 

preliminary  treaty  directly  with  the  Turks.     It  was, 
14 


314  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

perhaps,  an  unwise  step,  for  no  settlement,  tempo- 
rary or  permanent,  of  the  Eastern  question  can 
be  made  without  the  full  consent  of  all  the  Great 
Powers.  Perhaps  it  would  have  been  better  to  call 
a  general  Congress  at  once,  say  that  Russia  had 
conquered  from  the  Turks  all  that  the  Constanti- 
nople Conference  had  demanded,  and  then  ask 
the  Great  Powers  to  put  the  propositions  of  this 
Conference  forthwith  into  effect.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  must  be  remembered  that  Russia  had  had  a 
painful  experience  of  the  fruitlessness  of  confer- 
ences and  diplomatic  proceedings  generally,  and 
now  too  much  blood  and  treasure  had  been  ex- 
pended to  allow  any  risks  to  be  run  of  their  objects 
being  defeated.  Acting  on  this  idea,  Russia  deter- 
mined to  first  obtain  the  consent  of  the  Turks,  by 
means  of  a  preliminary  treaty,  to  new  forms  of  gov- 
ernment for  the  conquered  provinces,  and  then  to 
submit  this  to  a  future  Congress  as  an  accomplished 
fact,  to  be  modified  in  its  details,  if  necessary. 

The  bases  of  peace  were  agreed  to  before  hos- 
tilities were  suspended.     They  were — • 

I.  Bulgaria,  within  limits  not  less  than  those  indi- 
cated by  the  Conference,  to  become  a  self-govern- 
ing tributary  principality,  with  a  Christian  governor 
and  a  native  militia.  The  Ottoman  troops  to  no 
longer  remain  in  it,  and  the  Danubian  fortresses  to 
be  destroyed. 


The  Eastern  Question. 


0':) 


2.  Montenegro  to  be  acknowledged  independent, 
and  receive  an  increase  of  territory. 

3.  Roumania  and  Servia  to  become  independent, 
and  to  receive  territorial  indemnity. 

4.  Bosnia  and  Herzegovnia  to  be  "endowed  with 
an  autonomous  administration  and  sufficient  gua- 
ranties." 

5.  Turkey  to  pay  Russia  for  the  expenses  of  the 
war,  cither  in  money  or  territory. 

The  Treaty  of  San  Stefano  was  framed  on  this  basis. 
It  increased  by  a  few  hundred  square  miles  those  lim- 
its of  Bulgaria  which  had  been  indicated  by  the  Con- 
ference. The  former  limits  had  followed  an  irregu- 
lar line  about  forty  miles  distant  from  the  shores  of 
the  iEgean ;  the  new  limits  gave  the  principality  an 
outlet  to  the  sea  at  Salonica,  and  along  the  coast  for 
about  sixty  miles  east  of  the  Chalcidean  peninsula. 

It  made  Roumania  completely  independent,  took 
back  the  small  piece  of  Bessarabia  which  had  been 
awarded  to  it  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  and  gave  in  ex- 
change a  larger  territory  in  the  Dobrudja. 

To  Servia  were  given  independence  and  a  slight 
increase  in  territory. 

In  Bosnia  and  Herzegovnia  were  to  be  introduced 
those  measures  of  reform  which  had  been  formu- 
lated at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Conference,  subject 
to  any  changes  that  might  be  made  by  Austria,  Rus- 
sia, and  Turkey  in  common. 


3i6  Arviy  Life  in  Russia. 

The  war  indemnity  was  fixed  at  a  little  more  than 
a  thousand  millions  of  dollars ;  but  of  this  the  ter- 
ritory in  Bessarabia  and  the  fortresses  of  Batoum, 
Kars,  Ardahan,  etc.,  in  Asia,  were  valued  at  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  millions,  leaving  two  hundred  and 
fifty  millions  to  be  paid  in  cash,  the  details  of  the 
payment  to  be  subsequently  arranged. 

The  Russians  were  to  use  the  ports  of  the  Black 
Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Marmora  to  embark  their  troops, 
and  the  evacuation  of  Turkey  was  to  commence  at 
once,  and  be  concluded  within  six  months  after  the 
signature  of  a  definite  treaty  of  peace. 

Such  was  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano,  signed  on  the 
3d  of  March,  1878. 

Before  the  treaty  was  signed  Austria  had  already 
taken  the  lead  in  proposing  a  general  Conference  for 
the  consideration  of  Eastern  affairs ;  to  this  Russia 
and  other  Powers  acceded.  But  on  the  signature  of 
the  treaty  England  proposed  additional  conditions  on 
which  alone  she  would  enter  the  Conference  ;  these 
were,  that  the  treaty  should  be  submitted  entire  to 
the  Conference  in  order  that  it  might  judge  what 
portions  of  it  were  of  general  concern  and  should  be 
subject  to  modification.  To  this  Russia  replied, 
that  there  were  no  secret  articles  to  the  treaty;  that 
the  whole  of  it  had  been  furnished  to  each  of  the 
Powers,  and  that  each  of  them  might  raise  any  dis- 
cussion that  it  chose  ;  but  Russia  must  decline  to  ac- 


The  Eastern  Question.  317 

cept  the  discussion  if  it  was  not  upon  a  matter  of  Eu- 
ropean interest.  This  answer  was  not  satisfactory  to 
England,  and  after  considerable  correspondence  had 
passed  on  the  subject,  all  hope  of  the  meeting  of 
the  Conference  was  abandoned.  England  then  called 
out  her  reserves,  and  there  seemed  every  prospect 
of  war.  Lord  Derby,  who  had  so  long  tried  to  main- 
tain the  status  qno  by  neither  helping  the  Turks  nor 
coercing  them,  now  resigned.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Lord  Salisbur>%  and  on  the  ist  of  April  the  latter 
sent  out  his  famous  circular  dispatch  to  the  Powers, 
announcing  the  position  of  England. 

This  dispatch  rehearsed  the  argument,  the  practi- 
cal importance  of  which  it  was  hard  for  any  but 
Englishmen  to  comprehend,  about  Russia  siibviitiing 
the  entire  treaty  to  the  Conference,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  criticise  the  whole  bearing  and  intent  of 
the  San  Stefano  treaty.  In  Lord  Salisbury's  opin- 
ion, this  treaty  created  "  a  strong  Slav  state  under 
the  auspices  and  control  of  Russia,  possessing  im- 
portant harbors  on  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Archi- 
pelago, and  conferring  upon  that  Power  a  prepon- 
derating influence  over  both  political  and  commercial 
relations  in  those  seas.  .  .  ."  This  state  would 
be  "  subjected  to  a  ruler  whom  Russia  will  practi- 
cally choose,  its  administration  framed  by  a  Russian 
commissary,  and  the  first  working  of  its  institu- 
tions commenced  under  the  control  of  a  Russian  ar- 


3i8  Armj'  Life  in  Russia. 

my.  .  .  ."  Finally,  "  the  general  effect  of  this  portion 
of  the  treaty  will  be  to  increase  the  power  of  the  Rus- 
sian Empire  in  the  countries  and  on  the  shores  where 
a  Greek  population  dominates,  not  only  to  the  preju- 
dice of  that  nation,  but  also  of  every  country  having 
interests  in  the  cast  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea."  As 
the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano  had  prescribed  that  the 
Prince  of  Bulgaria  should  be  freely  elected  by  the 
population  and  confirmed  by  the  Porte,  ivith  the  con- 
sent of  the  Great  Pozvers,  and  that  he  should  not  be- 
long to  any  of  the  ruling  dynasties,  it  is  hard  to 
understand  how  he  would  be  a  "  ruler  whom  Rus- 
sia would  practically  choose."  As  for  the  size  of 
Bulgaria,  it  was  but  slightly  larger  than  that  pro- 
posed by  Lord  Salisbury  himself  and  the  other 
members  of  the  Conference  ;  at  that  time  he  was  as 
well  aware  as  now  of  the  number  of  Greeks  inhabit- 
ing it.  How  Russia  was  to  derive  any  more  advan- 
tage from  the  small  and  poor  harbors  of  ,the  new 
principality  in  the  ^^gean  than  she  had  derived 
from  the  numerous  ports  of  Greece  which  had  been 
freed  by  her  arms  in  1829,  was  not  explained;  but 
even  if  she  did,  it  required  a  most  ardent  prejudice 
to  explain  how  Russia,  by  having  a  few  harbors  in 
the  eastern  end  of  the  Mediterranean,  was  to  be  in- 
imical to  the  interests  of  every  other  nation,  any 
more  than  France,  Italy,  and  Austria,  which  had 
abundant  and  good  harbors  on  the  same  sea  or  its 


The  Eastern  Question.  319 

tributaries,  and  were  possessed  of  stronger  navies 
and  greater  naval  aptitude  than  Russia. 

The  argument  on  all  these  points  was  by  no  means 
conclusive,  and  Lord  Salisbury's  position  was  singu- 
larly opposed  to  that  which  he  had  maintained  at 
the  Conference. 

In  view  of  this  defiant  and  unreasonable  attitude 
of  England,  Russia  at  once  proceeded  to  send  Gen- 
eral Ignatieff  to  sound  the  intentions  of  Austria. 
For  England  single-handed  she  had  no  fears  what- 
ever. With  great  effort  England  could  land  ninety 
thousand  raw  troops  at  Gallipoli,  to  oppose  the  three 
hundred  thousand  veterans  which  Russia  had  south 
of  the  Balkans ;  the  Russian  ports  could  be  protect- 
ed by  torpedoes  against  England's  fleet,  which 
could  land  but  a  few  thousand  marines  at  Constan- 
tinople. Russia  could  fit  out  cruisers  to  prey  on 
English  commerce,  and  could  stir  up  insurrection  in 
India.  So  long  as  her  land  communications  were 
safe,  Russia  cared  nothing  for  the  navigation  of  tlie 
Black  Sea,  which  had  already  been  closed  to  her  by 
the  Turkish  fleet. 

These  views  were  shared  by  all  the  Russian  gen- 
erals. But  if  Austria  was  to  enter  on  the  scene,  the 
whole  condition  of  affairs  would  be  ciiangcd.  A 
glance  at  the  map  will  explain  this  at  once.  From 
the  Carpathians  to  the  Black  Sea  the  distance  is 
but  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles.     Through  this 


320  Arvty  Life  in  Russia. 

narrow  gap  came  all  the  supplies  for  the  Russian 
army.  Should  the  Austrian  army,  which  was  to  be 
supported  by  English  money,  block  this  passage, 
and  the  English  fleet  occupy  the  Black  Sea,  Russia's 
position  in  Turkey  was  a  checkmate ;  which  could 
only  be  broken  by  crushing  the  Austrian  army.  To 
attempt  to  fight  the  Turks  at  Constantinople,  the 
English  at  Gallipoli,  and  the  Austrians  in  Bessara- 
bia, would  require  sacrifices  of  the  most  onerous 
character. 

The  nature  of  the  negotiations  between  General 
Ignatieff  and  the  Austrian  government  has  never 
been  made  public  ;  but  they  undoubtedly  ended  in 
failure.  Austria,  as  in  the  Crimean  War,  seized  the 
diplomatic  opportunity  and  used  her  strategic  posi- 
tion to  the  utmost  advantage.  She  declined  to 
make  any  terms  with  Russia,  and  General  Ignatieff 
returned  without  success.  It  was  at  once  evident 
that  Russia  must  make  certain  concessions  or  at- 
tempt the  task  of  opposing  a  most  formidable  coa- 
lition in  behalf  of  interests  which  were  only  remote- 
ly her  own. 

Under  these  circumstances  Count  Shouvaloff  was 
summoned  to  St.  Petersburg  by  the  Emperor,  and 
on  his  return  to  London  he  made  a  secret  agree- 
ment with  Lord  Salisbury,  specifying  the  conditions 
under  which  Russia  would  enter  a  Conference,  the 
project  of   which   had    been    revived  by  Germany. 


TJie  Eastern  Question.  321 

The  essence  of  this  agreement  was  that  Bulgaria 
should  not  extend  to  the  ^gean  ;  that  it  should  bo 
divided  into  two  provinces,  separated  by  the  Bal- 
kans— the  northern  one  to  be  a  tributary  principality, 
and  the  southern  one  to  have  a  large  measure  of 
self-government,  and  no  Turkish  troops  to  be  sta- 
tioned in  it ;  the  war  indemnity  not  to  be  converted 
into  territorial  cession,  but  Russia  to  insist  on  the 
return  of  the  portion  of  Bessarabia  and  the  acquisi- 
tion of  certain  territory  in  Asia. 

With  this  understanding  the  Powers  convened  in 
Congress  on  the  13th  of  June,  1878.  The  treaty 
which  they  signed  just  one  month  later,  confirmed 
the  provisions  of  this  secret  agreement,  and  added  a 
provision  that  Austria  should  occupy  and  adminis- 
ter Bosnia  and  Hcrzegovnia.  No  term  was  fixed 
for  this  occupation,  and  it  will  in  all  probabilit)'  be 
permanent.  Thus  Austria,  which  had  taken  no  part 
in  the  war,  was  the  only  Great  Power  that  received 
any  considerable  territory  in  Europe  as  the  result 
of  it.  She  resumed  her  ancient  position  as  the  leg- 
atee of  the  territory  which  the  Turk  was  unable  to 
hold  and  defend. 

Before  the  treaty  was  signed  or  the  Congress  had 
met,  England  had  concluded  a  secret  alliance  with 
Turkey  by  which  she  guaranteed  to  defend  the 
Sultan's  Asiatic  possessions  against  further  en- 
croachments by  Russia,  provided  he  ceded  to  her 
14* 


322  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

the  island  of  Cyprus  as  a  base  for  her  opera- 
tions. 

Though  Russia  lost  nothing  personally  by  the 
Treaty  of  Berlin,  yet  it  was  undoubtedly  a  heavy 
blow  to  her  pride,  in  that  she  had  been  obliged  by 
Europe  to  renounce  the  settlement  which  she  had 
first  made,  in  favor  of  one  much  less  advantageous 
to  the  suffering  people  on  whose  behalf  she  had 
undertaken  the  war.  Her  own  settlement  contained 
far  more  elements  of  stability  than  that  which  Eu- 
rope dictated,  for  nothing  could  be  so  fruitful  of 
future  dissensions  and  insurrections  as  the  division 
of  the  lands  occupied  by  the  Bulgarians  into  two 
provinces,  one  of  which  enjoys  a  complete  govern- 
ment of  its  own,  and  the  other — as  Lord  Salisbury 
proudly  boasted — is  restored  to  the  "  direct  military 
and  political  authority  of  the  Sultan."  Nothing 
could  be  more  illusory  than  the  theory  that  the 
Balkans  form  a  strong  line  of  military  defense, 
which  was  the  central  feature  of  Lord  Beaconsfield's 
arguments  in  the  Congress.  Nothing  is  so  opposed 
to  the  teachings  of  history  as  the  idea  that  Russia's 
influence  with  the  subject  races  in  the  Balkan  Pen- 
insula would  be  diminished  by  the  obstructions  and 
restrictions  which  England  offers  to  the  freedom 
M'hich  these  races  have  gained  or  aspire  to. 

On  the  conclusion  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  many 
Englishmen  cried  out  with  joy — as  they  had  in  1856 


Tlic  Eastern  Question.  323 

— that  the  Eastern  question  was  now  finally  settled. 
It  has  required  but  two  short  years  to  prove  to 
every  one  how  far  this  is  from  being  true.  The 
boundary  of  Greece  is  still  undefined,  the  boundar}' 
of  Montenegro  the  same  ;  not  a  step  has  been  taken 
toward  reforming  the  government  in  Armenia,  and 
Cyprus  turns  out  to  be  too  unhealthy  for  British 
troops  to  inhabit  it.  Realizing  how  completely  they 
have  been  deceived  by  the  showy  but  unsubstantial 
foreign  policy  of  Lord  Beaconsfield's  government, 
the  British  public  has  lately  overturned  it  in  the 
most  complete  manner. 

But  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  has  this  great  advantage 
over  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  that  it  is  a  step  in  advance 
and  not  in  retreat.  It  says  no  word  about  the  "  in- 
tegrity and  independence  of  the  Ottoman  Empire," 
and  it  sanctions  the  diminution  of  that  empire  in 
favor  of  self-governing  Christian  states.  That  its 
settlement  is  only  a  temporary  one,  there  is  no 
doubt.  The  Turkish  government  is  bankrupt,  its 
officials,  civil  and  military,  arc  unpaid,  the  respect 
for  its  authority  is  everywhere  diminishing,  its  de- 
crepitude is  rapidly  increasing,  and  it  has  not  the 
means  of  introducing  reforms  even  if  it  had  the  w  iil. 
Its  dissolution  is  near  at  hand.  Will  England  .still 
try  to  galvanize  its  lifeless  members  and  to  prop  it 
up,  or  will  it  come  to  terms  with  its  neighbors  and 
arrange  for  its  exit  ? 


324  Army  Life  in  Russia. 

Such  is  the  Eastern  question — the  question  whe- 
ther the  Turk  shall  live  in  Europe  and  misgovern 
Christian  subjects  ;  whether  the  teachings  of  the  Ko- 
ran or  of  the  Bible  shall  have  the  ascendancy  in 
Southeastern  Europe.  For  five  hundred  and 
twenty-four  years  the  Turk  has  occupied  some 
of  the  fairest  lands  known  to  man — lands  which  in 
times  past  have  been  the  seat  of  the  first  nations 
of  the  earth,  and  whose  mineral  and  agricultural 
wealth,  wonderful  climate,  and  geographical  situa- 
tion would  make  them  to-day  the  rivals  in  pros- 
perity, wealth,  and  happiness,  of  any  country  in  Eu- 
rope, were  they  fairly  governed.  How  has  the  Turk 
administered  this  rich  heritage?  Save  a  few  of  the 
earlier  Sultans,  who  were  possessed  of  strong  charac- 
ters and  military  skill,  in  these  five  hundred  years 
Turkey  has  produced  no  great  man  ;  in  art  and  in 
science  Turkish  history  is  an  absolute  blank,  and  its 
literature  consists  of  little  but  dissertations  on  the 
Koran.  The  wonderful  mechanical  genius  which 
during  this  century  has  so  aided  the  development 
of  wealth  and  of  material  prosperity  and  happiness 
throughout  the  civilized  world,  has  never  been  al- 
lowed to  enter  Turkey.  Its  lands  are  tilled  as  they 
were  two  thousand  years  ago,  its  mines  are  un- 
opened, and  its  highways  of  communication  are 
such  as  were  left  by  the  Roman  conquerors.  You 
may   search    as    you    please    through    the   records 


The  Eastern  Question.  ^"^ 


J-D 


of  these  five  hundred  years,  and  you  will  find  no 
evidence  of  the  slightest  advance  in  civilization.  It 
is  only  a  barren  and  sickening  tale  of  wars  and  op- 
pression and  misrule,  of  grinding  extortion  and  bar- 
barous massacre,  of  personal  corruption  and  the 
grossest  immorality. 

How   to   remedy   this   without    allowing  all   the 
benefits   to   accrue   to  one  nation,  is  the   problem 
which  now  faces  Europe,  as  it  has  for  more  than  a 
century  past.     It  is  a  problem  of  stupendous  magni- 
tude— the  problem  above  all  others  of  international 
politics  in  Europe.     It  involves  every  great  nation 
in  the  world,  save  only  ourselves,  and  absorbs  the 
unceasing  attention  of  the  greatest  minds  in  those 
nations.     That  it  will  end  in  the  expulsion  of  the 
Turk  from  Europe  at  no  distant  day,  may  be  confi- 
dently asserted,  but,  further  than  this,  it  is  hazard- 
ous to  attempt  to  predict  the  details  of  the  solution. 
Certain    fundamental    principles,    however,    which 
have  now  been  proved  beyond  a  doubt,  must  form 
the   basis   of   any   permanent  settlement ;  and  the 
most  essential  of  these  arc,  first,  that  the  existing 
Ottoman    government   is   incapable    of    introducing 
reforms  in  the  government  of  its  subject  races  ;  and, 
second,  that  it  is  impossible  for  it  to  permanently 
maintain  its  existence  cither  with  or  without  foreign 
aid.     The  principles  of  the  Treaty  of    Paris   have 
been  shown   to   be  utterly  untenable,  and  must  be 


326  Ar>?iy  Life  in  Russia. 

abandoned  in  favor  of  something  more  in  accord- 
ance with  facts  and  justice.  In  short,  the  status 
quo,  which  England  has  striven  to  maintain  for  so 
many  years,  has  now  proved  itself  an  impossibility, 
and  it  is  imperatively  necessary  to  provide  a  substi- 
tute. Will  England  frankly  join  the  other  Great 
Powers  in  endeavoring  to  provide  a  substitute ;  will 
the  Powers  be  able  to  agree,  even  if  England  joins 
them,  or  will  the  Ottoman  government  make  its 
exit  in  the  midst  of  a  convulsion  brought  about  by 
new  rebellions  of  its  own  subjects  ?  The  time  for 
the  final  solution  of  this  long-pending  Eastern  ques- 
tion seems  now  to  be  at  hand,  but  no  man  can  tell 
how  the  solution  will  be  made. 


THE  END. 


The    best    Biography    of  the    Greatest    of  the    Romans. 


C^SAR:     A    Sketch. 

BY 
JAMES    ANTHONY    FROUDE,  M.A, 


One    vol.,    8vo,    cloth,   •wrlth    a    Steel    Portrait    and    a    Map. 

Price,  S2.50. 


There  is  no  historical  writer  of  our  time  who  can  rival  Mr.  Froude  in  vivid 
delineation  of  character,  grace  and  clearness  of  style  and  elegant  and  solid 
scholarship.  In  his  /,i/e  of  Cwmir,  all  these  qaahties  appear  in  their  fullest 
perfection,  resulting  in  a  fascinating  narrative  which  will  be  read  with  keen 
dsUght  by  a  maltitade  of  readers,  and  will  enhance,  if  possible,  Mr.  Fronde's 
brilliant  reputation. 


CRITICAL    NOTICES. 

"The  book  is  charmingly  written,  and,  on  the  whole,  wisely  written.  There  are  m.nny 
admirable,  really  noble,  passages  ;  there  are  hundreds  of  pages  which  few  living  men 
could  match.  ♦  •  ♦  Tlie  political  life  of  CoES.Tr  is  explained  with  singular  lucidity, 
and  with  what  seems  to  us  remarkable  fairness.  The  horrible  condition  of  Roman 
society  und:r  the  rule  of  the  magnates  is  painted  with  startling  power  and  brilliance  of 
coloring. — Atiaiitic  Monthly. 

"Mr.  Froudc's  litest  work,  "  Ca:sar,"  is  affluent  of  his  most  distinctive  traits. 
Nothing  that  he  has  written  is  more  brilliant,  more  incisive,  more  interesting.  •  •  • 
He  combines  into  a  compact  and  nervous  narrative  all  that  is  known  of  the  pergonal, 
social,  political,  and  military  lile  of  Cajsar  ;  and  with  his  sketch  of  Ca:sar,  includes  other 
brilliant  sketches  of  the  great  men,  his  friends  or  rivals,  who  contemporaneously  with 
him  formed  the  princip.il  figures  in  the  Roman  world." — Ilar/itr' s  Monthly. 

"This  book  is  a  most  fascinating  biography,  and  is  by  far  the  best  account  of  Julius 
Oe&ar  to  be  found  in  the  Knglish  language." — London  Standard, 

"  It  I';  the  best  biography  of  the  greatest  of  the  Romans  we  have,  and  it  is  in  some 
respects  Mr.  Froudc's  best  piece  of  historical  writing." — llart/ord  Couraut. 

Mr.  Froude  has  given  the  public  the  best  of  all  recent  books  on  the  liA:,  character 
and  career  of  Julius  Casar." — Phila.  Eve.  Bulletin. 


*,*    For   sale    by  all  booksellers.^  or  will   le   sent,  prepaid,  upon 
receipt  of  price,  by 

CHARLES  SCRTBXF.R'S   SONS, 

743  AM>  745  Broadway,  New  York, 


*J  iiH>i'k  of  strange  potver  and  poetry.'^— N.Y.VfoRVJx 


THE     COSSACKS 


TRANSLATED    BY 


EUGENE    SCHUYLER,    Ph.D., 

From  the  Russian  of  Count  Tolstoy, 
1  TOi.,  small  12mo,  cloth,    .......       $1.28 


"  The  translation  is  excellent,  although  the  Russian  flavor  still  remains. 
Yet  this  rather  heightens  than  mars  the  fascination  of  the  book." 

— Baltimore  Gazette. 

"A  story  of  high  merit  and  well-sustained  interest." — P'.ila.  Bulletin. 

"The  Cossacks  is  a  novel  likely  to  please  a  much  wider  circle  of 
readers  in  this  country  than  anything  that  the  more  famous  novelist 
(Turguenief)  has  done,  than  any  other  Russian  novel  which  has  been 
translated,  indeed,  including  even  the  stories  of  Pushkin." 

—N.   i .  Evening  Post. 

"The  characters  are  all  sketched  by  a  master  hand,  and  the  story, 
without  being  artistically  woven,  is  full  of  living  interest  and  warmth,  and 
we  thank  Mr.  Schuyler  for  breaking  up  this  new  ground,  and  hope  he  will 
follow  up  the  lead,  for  he  has  whet  our  appetites  for  more  of  this  brilliant 
writer's  work." — New  York  Herald. 

"  Its  interest,  besides  the  interest  of  the  qualities  we  have  mentioned, 
resides  in  its  broad  and  firm,  yet  delicate  and  subtle  portraiture  ;  and  apart 
from  its  novel  characteristics,  it  should  be  welcome  for  the  acquaintance  it 
enables  one  to  make  of  the  different  personages  it  so  admirably  sketches." 

— New  York  World. 

"  The  story  is  one  that  American  readers  will  enjoy,  not  only  because 
it  is  in  many  respects  a  masterpiece  of  literary  work,  but  also  because  it 
takes  tiiem  into  scenes  entirely  new  to  them,  and  among  characters  u 
strange  as  the  scenes  in  which  they  are  placed.'' — New  Haven  J'alladium, 


•»•  ne  ahove  book  /or  stile  by  all  booksellers,  pr  loill  be  sent,  post  or  expttu 
tkMrgts  paid,  upon  receipt  of  the  price  by  the  publishers, 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS, 

743  A.ND  745  Broadway,  New  York, 


'A   GREAT  SUCCESS." -Pall  Mall  Qazetta. 


Jk.      IT  E  "W-      ^  IT  X3       C  H  E -A.  !>  E  U,       Tvl  ID  I  O?  I  O  liT  . 

MR.    EUGENE    SCHUYLER'S 

TURKISTAN: 

Notes   of   a   Journey   in   1873,   in   the   Russian   Province   of 

Turkistan,  the  Khanates  of  Khokan  and  Bukhara, 

and  Provinces  of  Kuldja. 

Bv   EUGENE   SCHUYLER,  Ph.D., 

formerly  Secretary  of  the  American  Legation  at   St  Petersburg,  now  ConsulGcDO^ 

nc  Constantinople. 

OPINIONS    OF    THE    PRESS. 

J^rom  the  London  Times. 
"  Mr.  Schuyler  will  be  ranked  among  the  most  accomplished  of  living  travelers. 
Many  parts  of  his  book  will  be  found  of  interest,  even  by  the  most  ex.ictinj  of  <;eneraJ 
readers ;  and,  as  a  whole,  it  is  incomparably  the  most  valuable  record  of  Central  A»ia 
which  has  been  published  in  this  country." 

From  the  N.  Y.  Ez'eitiug  Post. 
"Th«>  author's  chief  aim  appears  to  have  been  to  do  all  that  he  says  he  tried  to  do, 
and  to  do  greatly  more  besiiie  -namely,  to  study  everything  there  was  to  stuily  in  the 
countnes  which  he  visited,  and  to  tell  the  world  all  about  it  in  a  most  interesting  way. 
He  is,  indeed,  a  model  traveler,  and  he  has  written  a  model  book  of  travels,  in  which 
every  line  is  interesting,  and  from  which  nothing  that  any  reader  can  want  to  hear  about 
has  been  excluded.  ' 

^fr.  Citdstone  in  the  ^'Conlem/iornry  Jxerietti." 
"One  of  the  most  solid  and  painstaking  works  which  have  been  published  among  uf 
in  recent  years." 

From  Hit  Neiu  York  Times. 

"Its  descriptions  of  the  country  and  of  the  people  living  !n  it  are  always  interesting 
and  frcnueiilly  amusuig  ;  but  it  is  easy  to  see  that  they  have  been  written  by  one  w  ho  ii 
not  only  so  thurou.;hly  cosmopolitan  as  to  knour  intuitively  what  is  worth  leilm^ianl  wh.il 
had  better  be  omitted,  but  who  is,  also,  so  practiced  a  writer  as  to  understand  precise!] 
how  to  set  forth  what  he  has  to  say  in  the  most  effective  manner." 

From  the  Atlantic  Monthly. 
"Undoubtedly  the   most  thoroughly  brilliant  and  entertaining  work   on  Tnrkiitar 
which  has  yet  been  given  to  the  English-speaking  world." 

From  the  Independent. 
"It  is  fortunate  that  a  record  of  the  sort  appears  at  this  time,  and  doubly  fortunata 
that  it  comes  from  the  hand  of  so  wise,  well-informed,  and  industrious  a  traveler  and 
diplomat." 

From  the  Kew  York   World. 

"Its  author  has  the  eye  and  pen  of  a  journalist,  and  sees  at  once  what  is  woi  (b 
leeing,  and  recites  his  impressions  m  the  most  graphic  manner." 

Tvao  vols.  8vo.    AVith  three  Maps,  and  numerous  IlIuBtratlons, 

attractively  bound  in  cloth,  price  reduced  from  $7.50  to  $5. 
»,•  The  nborie  book  for  title  l>y  all  hooktell'-rt,  or   ifili  be  sent,  post  or  express 
chitrgei  ptid,  upon  receipt  of  the  price  by  t/u  publishers, 

CHARLKS    SCRIIJNER'S    SONS, 

743  AM)  7.}5  Ukuaowav,  ^'^:^v  Yokk. 


T/te  Authorized  Edition.      Turo  Vols,  in  One. 
The   most   Famous    Book   of  the    Day. 


jBismflFth 


IN    THE    FRANCO-GERM  A.N     WAH. 
AN     AUTHORIZED     TRANSLATION     FROM     THE     GERIIA  * 

OF 

Dr.    MORITZ    BUSCH. 


Tv<ro  Vols,  in  One,  black  and  gold, $1.30 


American  readers  now  have  an  opportunity  to  make 
acquaintance  with  the  most  widely-discussed  book  of  the 
day,  and  those  whose  expectation  has  been  aroused  by  the 
reviews  and  correspondents  will  be  able  fully  to  understand 
the  excitement  it  has  called  forth  in  Europe. 

Covering  the  whole  period  of  the  war,  the  book  gives 
an  account — as  vivid  as  only  the  smallest  details  can  make 
it — of  Bismarck's  daily  life,  habits,  and  methods  of  work, 
his  comments  on  everything  and  every  one  about  him ;  his 
opinions,  epigrams,  and  smallest  table-talk. 


"  It  is  a  ravishing  took,  ^ve  Aave  said,  and  one  v<ho  takes  it  uf>  does  not  tay  U 
doTim  again  until  he  has  rend  its  last  page,  and  has  turned  back  to  read  again  »nA 
O'^ain  some  of  its  most  entertaining  paragraphs.  It  is  a  ■monder/ul  book,  too,  con- 
sidered merely  as  a  piece  o//aitli/ul  reporting.— M.  Y.  KVKNING  POST. 

"The  publication  of  Bismarck's  after-dinner  talk,  inhether  discreet  or  not,  ii'tlt 
be  ofpriceliss  biographical  value,  and  Eiiglishtnen,  at  least,  ivill  not  he  disposed  to 
guarrel  inith  Dr.  liusch /or  giving  a  picture  as  true  to  life  as  lios-.uelV s  '  Johnson  ' 
t/  the  foremost  pract  cnl  genius  that  Germany  has  produced  since  Fredtric't  tkt 
Great."— LONDON  TIMES. 

^^  Nobody  can  understand  the  political  history  of  the  Franco-German  inar,  nor 
the  man  Ijismarck,  its  chief  nia/.er,  irho  has  not  read  the  diary  of  the  Reichskanzler't 
liosinell.  ....  The  English  version  is  far  more  readable  than,  the  German.* 
—LONDON  ATlIENyEUM. 


•»*  The  above  bock  for  sale  by  all  bookselltrs,  or  will  bt  sent,  prepaid,   •>«■ 
receipt  of  price,  by 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS,  Publishers, 

743  AND  745  Broadway,  New  Yo&k, 


The  Standard  Edition  of  Gladstone's  Essays. 


0lFflnings  of  JPast  igpars. 

RV 

The  Right  Hon.  W.  E.  GLADSTONE. 


Seven  Volumes,   16ino,  Cloth,  per  volume,  $1.00. 


The  extraordinary  scope  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  learning — the  wonder  of 
his  friends  and  enemies  alike — and  his  firm  grasp  of  every  subject  he 
discusses,  make  his  essays  much  more  than  transient  literature.  Tiieir 
collection  and  publication  in  permanent  shape  were  of  course  certain  to 
be  undertaken  sooner  or  later;  and  now  that  they  are  so  published  with 
the  benefit  of  his  own  revision,  they  will  need  little  heralding  in  England 
or  America. 

What  Mr.  Gladstone  has  written  in  the  last  thirty-six  years — the  period 
covered  by  this  collection — has  probably  had  the  attention  of  as  large  an 
English-siieaking  public  as  any  writer  on  political  antl  social  tojiics  ever 
reached  in  his  own  life-time.  The  pa|)ers  which  he  has  chosen  as  of 
lasting  value,  and  included  here  under  the  tiile  of  0'/triini)i<;s  of  Pust 
Years,  will   form   the   standard    etiition   of  his   miscellanies,  both  for  his 

E resent   multitude  of  readers,  and  for  those  who  will  study  his  writing! 
Iter. 


Vol.  I.  The  Throne,  and  the  Prince  Consort; 
The  Cabinet,  and  Constitution. 
Vol.     II.— Personal  and  Literary. 
Vol.  III.— Historical  and  Speculative. 
Vol.   IV.— Foreign. 

Vol.    V.    )  c     I     •     +•     I 
..   ,    ...      -  Ecclesiastical. 

Vol.  VI.    ) 

Vol.  VII.— Miscellaneous. 

•  ^*  Thf   abmie  books  /or  tale   by   all  booksellers,  or  irill  be  sent,  frr^iiil,  tif^iA 
r*ceij>t  o/  /rice,  ly 

CHARLES   SCRIIJNKR'S    SON'S,  rini.isnr.Ks, 

743  ANL>  745  liuuAUWAY,  Ni:\v  Voi.k- 


■  A  book  abounding:  la  matter  of  solid   Interest." — London  S/ectai«r, 


^|p  (lotJppnniFnf  of  ^.  ^\m%. 

By    JULES     SIMON. 

Tratislatcd from  the  French. 

Two  vols.  8vo $4.50. 

The  importance  of  this  book  among  the  materials  for  the  history  of  the 
lime  is  at  once  self-evident,  and  can  hardly  be  exaggerated.  Simon's  part 
in  the  most  intense  action  of  the  period  he  describes,  his  intimate  relations 
with  Thiers  himself,  and  his  i)Osition  in  the  Republican  party  of  France, 
unite  to  give  a  worth  to  his  narrative  such  as  could  hardly  attach  to  that  ol 
any  other  eye-witness  of  these  events.  Such  records,  by  men  writing  of 
matters  in  tiic  very  crisis  of  their  own  activity,  generally  have  to  wait  for 
the  future  historian  to  put  them  into  their  lasting  form,  and  give  them  their 
greatest  interest  as  parts  of  the  whole  story.  But  the  most  remarkable  fea- 
ture of  M.  Simon's  book  is  that  it  does  not  need  this  treatment,  and  is  not 
so  much  a  personal  memoir — a  contribution  to  history — as  a  completed  pic- 
ture of  the  period.  There  is  a  justice  of  proportion  and  truth  of  historical 
perspective  about  it  that  is  very  unusual  in  the  work  of  one  recording  the 
politics  of  his  own  day.  Parts  are  not  unduly  magnified  because  they  were 
subjects  of  the  author's  special  personal  observation  and  interest ;  but  the 
relative  weight  of  different  events  is  as  carefully  given  as  though  by  a  philo- 
sophical looker-on  rather  than  an  actor.  There  is  a  strong  probability  that 
a  century  hence  the  book  will  still  loe  looked  upon  as  among  the  first 
authorities,  in  impartiality  and  full  appreciation  of  the  time  it  treats. 

Simon's  pen-pictures  of  contemporaries— even  of  adversaries— are  very 
striking,  in  the  fact  that  they  are  generally  just  without  losing  any  of  their 
»'igor.  They  are  as  interesting  from  another  point  of  view — if  not  as 
"ruthless"— as  those  of  the  great  German  chancellor,  whose  comments  on 
I  he  characters  of  those  engaged  in  the  same  scenes  are  often  supplemented 
Ijy  these  sketches.  The  future  historian  of  the  last  ten  years  can  hardly 
complain  that  he  lacks  knowledge  of  their  leading  men,  when  he  has  at  hand 
this  history  and  Dr.  Busch's  memoirs  of  Prince  Bismarck. 


From  the  "  London  Spectator." 
"  The  special  interest  connected  with  these  volumps  is  to  be  found  in  striking  and  vivid 
notices  scattered  through  them  of  points  which  only  one  intimately  connected  with  tlie 
transactions  under  review  could  have  known.  With  the  single  exception  of  M.  liarthd- 
lemy  St.  Hilaire,  no  person  was  so  closely  associated  with  M.Thiers  during  tlic  course  of 
his  administration  as  Jules  Simon.  *  *  *  *  The  various  chapters  are  devoted  to  so 
Yiany  episodes — many  of  them  stirring  episodes — that  are  told  with  striking  force.  (J^ 
tourse  the  spir  t  of  the  narrative  is  strongly  biased,  but  it  cannot  be  said  that  M.  Jules 
Simon  writes  with  want  of  candour.  *  *  *  *  The  history  of  the  constant  and  patient 
struggle  of  M.  Thiers  against  turbulent  and  factious  comliinations,  though  not  un.re- 
quently  attended  by  sallies  on  his  own  part  of  seeming  impatience  and  querulou^ncss.  ii 
narrated  in  graphic  chapters.  Two  especially  must  command  attention — those  in  which 
M.  Simon  tells  the  tale  of  the  Commune  and  ol  the  negotiations  which  M.  Tillers  carried 
on  with  so  much  skill  and  pertinacity  f  >r  the  liberation  of  France  from  the  invader  at  a 
term  earlier  iJian  that  fixed  by  the  original  treaty." 

•,•  The  above  book  for  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  will  be    sent,   prejiaid,   ujnm 
ractipt  qf  price,  by 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS,  Purlishers, 

743  AND  745  Broadway,  New  Yokk. 


"T'^o   as    interesting    and  valuable    books    of   travel    as    bav« 
been   published   in  this   country."  New  Vokk  Kxpki^ss. 

JJR.  FIELD'S  Travels  BouyD  the  Would. 


I. 

FROM  THE  LAKES  OF  KILLARNEY  TO  THE 
GOLDEN  HORN. 


IT. 
FROM  EGYPT  TO  JAPAN. 


By    EENRV    M.    FIELD,    D.D.,   Editor    of  the    N.  V.    Evangelist. 
Each  1  vol,  12mo.     Cloth,  ^ilt  top,  uniform  In  sty  e,  $2. 


CRITICAL     NOTICES. 

By  Oeorgre  Ripley,  LL.D.,  in  the  Ne-w  York  Tribune. 

Fc*  recent  travellers  combine  so  m.Tiiy  qualities  that  are  ad.iptcd  to  command  the 
Interest  and  sympathy  of  the  public  While  he  indulges,  to  its  fullest  extent,  the  charac- 
teristic American  curiosity  with  regard  to  foreign  lands,  insisting  on  seeing  every  object 
of  interest  with  his  own  eyes,  shrinking  from  no  peril  or  dilTiciilty  in  pursuit  of  inlor- 
iiiation — climbing  mountains,  descending  mines,  exploring  fiyraninls,  with  no  sense  o( 
satiety  or  weariness,  he  has  also  made  a  faithful  study  of  the  highest  authorities  on 
the  diflerent  subjects  of  his  narrative,  thus  giving  solidity  and  depth  to  his  descriptions, 
without  sacrificing  their  facility  or  grace. 

From  the  Ne-w^  York  Observer. 

The  present  volume  comprises  by  far  the  most  novel,  romantic,  and  interesting  part 
of  the  Journey  [Round  the  World],  and  the  story  of  it  is  toM  and  the  scenes  are  painteil 
by  the  hand  of  a  master  of  the  pen.  Dr.  Kiekl  is  a  veteran  traveller;  he  knows  well 
what  to  see,  and  (which  is  still  more  important  to  the  reader)  he  knows  well  wliat  to 
describe  and   how  to  do  it. 

By  Chas.  Dudley  Warner,  In  the  Hartford  Courant. 

It  is  thoroughly  entertaining;  the  reader's  interest  is  never  allowed  to  flag;  the 
author  carries  us  forward  from  land  to  land  with  unconinion  vivacity,  enlivens  the  way 
with  a  good  humor,  a  carelui  observation,  and  treats  all  peoples  with  a  refreshing  liberality. 

From  Rev.  Dr.  R.  S.  Storrs. 
It  is  indeed  a  charming  book— full  of  fresh  iiiforination,  picturesque  description,  and 
thoughtful  studies  of  men,  countries,  and  civilizations. 

From  Prof.  Roswell  D.  Hitchcock,  D.D. 

In  this  second  volume,  Dr.  KieKl,  I  think,  has  surpassed  himself  in  the  first,  ai  J 
this  is  s.iylng  a  good  deal.  In  both  volumes  the  editorial  instinct  and  habit  arc  cmisiiic- 
uous.  Dr.  Prime  has  said  that  an  editor  should  have  six  senses,  the  sixth  being 
'' A  scaicoi  Hie  intereiiing."     Dr.  Field  has  this  to  perfection.     •     •     • 

From  the  Ne'e?  York  Herald. 

It  would  be  impossible  l/y  extracts  to  cmvcy  an  ailciiuate  idea  of  the  variety, 
abundance,  or  picturesque  freshness  of  these  sketches  of  travel,  without  copying  a  grc;n 
part  of  the  book. 

Rev.  Wm.  M.  Taylor,  D.D.,  In  the  Christlaa  at  AVork. 

Dr.  Kirld  has  .in  eye,  if  wc  may  use  a  pholographic  illiislralion,  with  a  crcal  deal  of 
coriodi'in  in  it,  so  tlial  he  see'"  very  cliarly.  He  knows  aUo  linw  to  d'si.ril>e  Just  llmse 
tnings  in  the  difftrcnt  places  visited  by  him  which  an  intelligent  man  wants  to  know 
at<out. 

*,•    Tkf  nhcme  bookt  /or  inU  by  nil  booktelltrs,  or  ivill  be  srnt,  fntsl  or  ex/rtat 
tkargesjiaiit^  u/on  recfij>t  oj  the  price  by  the  /•uhlishrrs. 

CHARLKS  SCRIIJNKR'S  SONS, 

743  AND  745  Uroauway,  Nkw  York. 


A    FASCIN^ATING    BOOK. 


JPrinrF  iBismarrh's  EfttFFS 

TO 

His  Sister,  Wife,  and  Others, 

From    1844  to    1870. 
TRANSLATED     FROM     THE     GERMAN, 

By    FITZH.    MAXSE. 

Cu*  Vol.  16mo,  cloth, $1.00 


■»  ■»  » 


These  select  letters  of  Prince  Bismarck,  which  have  been  collected, 
translated,  and  puljlished  with  his  express  consent,  illustrate,  and  ]5erhaps 
as  forcibly  as  ever  before,  the  wide  separation  there  may  be  between  the 
public  and  private  life  of  a  great  statesman.  No  matter  how  familiar  the 
reader  may  be  with  Bismarck's  political  career,  this  volume  will  contain 
for  him  a  revelation  as  remarkable  as  it  is  intensely  interesting.  For  in, 
them  we  see  not  the  diplomatist  but  the  man. 


From  the  "  Neiu-  York  livening  Post." 


"The  careful  reader  will  see  on  nearly  every  page  some  sentence  whIcJi  reveals  the 
character  of  this  remarkable  man  as  it  has  never  been  revealed  in  his  public  acts  or 
words." 

From  the  '■^Boston   Tranccrijtt" 

"  Even  the  most  confirmed  Hismarck-hater  cannot  help  feeling  his  prejudices 
soltened,  and  his  respect  for  this  wonderful  man  increased  in  reading  these  revelations 
of  his  inner  life.  The  work  which  contains  them  will  have  the  efl'ect  of  changing  in  no 
small  decree  the  popular  estimate  of  his  character  in  this  country,  and  will  form  an 
imporUint  volume  in  autobiographic  literature." 

From  the  '■''Nation" 

"The  impression  conveyed  throughout  these  letters  is  that  Bismarck,  In  respect  to 
his  political  life,  is  a  Diogenes,  who,  in  an  hour  of  weakness,  has  been  persuaded  out  ol 
his  tub,  and  who  regrets  the  emergence  as  an  error,  liut  in  its  humor,  its  melancholy, 
its  sell-consciousness,  I'.ismarck's  is  a  thoroughly  modern  mind  ;  in  his  lack  of  intel- 
lectual subtllty,  and  in  his  downright  religious  convictions,  he  is  less  evidently  of  our 
time,  orthodoxy  being  now  in  Clermany,  for  the  most  part — at  least  among  the  lloftvelt-— 
an  anachronism.  *  ♦  *  Complete  vigor  and  genuineness  of  nature,  combim-d  with 
rare  patience  and  good  humor,  rather  than  a  profound  insight,  have  given  Prince  voo 
Uismarck  his  position  in  European  affairs.  '1  hese  letters  alone  are  enough  to  show 
•hat  their  writer  was  never  destined  to  an  inferior  place. 


*,*  The  abo7ie  book  for  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  ivill  be  sent,  prepaid,  upon 
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CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS,  Publishers, 

743  AND  745  Broadway,  New  York. 


AN   INVALUABLE  ADDITION  TD  ARCH/EOLOGICAL  D  SCOVERf. 
PR.  schliemann's  great  work. 


DISCOVERIES  AND  RESEARCHES 

ON  THE  SITES  OF 
ANCIENT  MYCEN/E  AND  TIRYNS. 

By  DR.  HENRY  SCHLIEMANN,  Author  of  "  Troy  and  its  Remains." 

With  Preface  by  the  Ho>^.  W.  E.  Gladstone. 

IVith    Ma^s,    Colored  Plates,     Vitms    and    Cuts,    rf/tresenting   several  Hundred 
Objects  0/  Antiquity  disco^iercd  on  the  Sites. 

fl.V  ALL,    FIVE  HUNDRED  ILLUSTRATIONS.] 


CKITICAL.  NOTICES. 


*'  In  this  magnificent  volume  we  have 
finally  the  story  of  Dr.  Schliemann's  last 
and  m'lst  imp 'rt-int  discoveries.  He  has 
been  the  must  fortunate  of  arch.xi>lot;ical 
explorers;  f>r  even  a  greater  luck  than 
rewar  led  him  in  tlie  TrDad  has  fallen  to 
his  portion  in  Arsiolis.  ♦  *  *  We  sus- 
pect that  the  final  verdict  of  scholars  will 
be  tliat  Dr.  .Schliemann  has  actually  dis- 
covered the  remams  of  the  man,  some  part 
of  whose  history,  .it  le.ist,  is  pie>erved  in 
the  Agamemnon  of  Homer  and  ^schylus." 
—The  y.  Y.  Tribune. 

"  Dr.  Schl'emann's  book  is  worrh  all  the 
prole?omens  and  commentaries  upon  Ho- 
mer that  have  been  written  since  the  re- 
\ival  of  learnmg." — The  Uoston  Globe. 

"The  interest  of  ihework  is  not  confined 
to  either  England  or  .America.  Kvery  en- 
lightened nation  will  welcome  it,  for  it  opens 
up  a  new  wold  to  the  modern  g'-ncration. 
No  work  of  the  lime  has  attracted  wider 
attention." — Boston  Tost. 


"  This  splendid  volume  is  a  museum  of 
itself  whicn  every  lover  of  history  an  d 
classical  liier.iture  will  feel  that  he  niu^t 
pjssess,  and  winch  any  inlelli;-ent  reader 
IS  com^jctent  to  understand  an  I  enj  )y  by 
means  of  iis  abundant  and  truly  splendid 
illustrations." — Buffalo  Coinmercutl  Ad- 
vertiser, 

**  Dr.  Schliemann  has  made  the  most 
important  contribution  of  the  present  cen- 
tury to  Greek  archicology." — The  X<ition. 

"We  commend  the  volume,  with  its  ad- 
miralile  typo;;raphy  and  multiiu  linnns  il- 
lustrations, to  the  aitentlon  of  our  readers, 
assuring  them  that  they  will  find  it  posses- 
sed of  a  rare  and  cmlurinij  interest." — 
Boston  Journal. 

"  We  add  our  testimony  !n  saying  that  a 
copy  of  Mycenae  is  ncces-.ary  to  the  library 
ol  every  schol.ir,  and — whii;h  is  no  mean 
praise— that  the  printim;  and  iihistraticms 
of  this  wo  k  arc  worthy  of  tlie  matter."— 
Baltimore  Gazette. 


One  vol.  qnarto,  Enperbly  printed  on  superfine  paper,  cloth  extra,  $12.00. 

•»•  The  above  books  for  sale  by  all  booksell-rs,   or  will  be  sent,  fvst  or  ex^rtti 
tkmrges  fiaid,  ufrjH  retetpt  of  the  frice  by  the  /ubliihers, 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS, 

743   AND   745    I3KOAUVVAy,    NeW    YOIK. 


"The  world  has  waited  for  this  publication,  and  now  that  it  has  appeared,  it 

will  be  diligontly  read  by  all  men." 


THE    AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

PRINCE    METTERNICH. 

Edited  by  his  Son,  Prince  Metternich.     Translated  by  Robina  Napier. 
With  a  minute  index  prepared  especially  /or  this  edition. 

2  vols.,  8vo.     With  Portrait  and  Fac-similes      -        -        $5.00. 


For  twenty  years— since  it  became  known  at  his  death  that  the  great  diplomatist 
of  the  Napoleonic  period  had  left  his  memoirs — the  publication  of  this  book  has  been 
looked  for  with  such  iniercst  as  perliaps  no  other  personal  revelations  could  have 
aroused.  Prince  Metternich's  own  directions  kept  it  back  diirin<j;  this  time;  and  this 
fact,  wilh  the  cumplele  secresy  preserved  as  to  the  contents  of  the  manuscript,  rightly 
led  to  the  belief  that  he  had  treated  the  events  and  persons  of  his  day  witli  an  un- 
sparing candor. 

'I'he  simultaneous  publication  of  the  memoirs  in  Germany,  France,  England  and 
America  is  therefore  something  more  than  a  literary  event.  iMetteriiich  alone  held  the 
keys  of  the  most  secret  history  of  the  most  important  epoch  in  modern  limes,  and  in 
this  book  he  gives  them  up — an  impossibility  during  his  life.  Even  to  especial  students, 
who  know  what  problems  the^e  disclosures  have  been  expected  to  solve,  the  value  of 
what  they  open  will  be  as  surprising  as  the  extraordinary  care  with  which  they  have 
been  guarded. 

The  announcement  alone  is  of  sufficient  interest,  that  we  are  at  last  in  possession 
of  the  autobiography  ot  the  statesman  who  from  the  French  Revolution  to  Waterloo, 
took  part  in  the  making  of  nearly  every  great  treaty,  and  was  himself  ihe  negotiator 
of  the  greatest  ;  and  who  from  1806  to  i8is,  was  the  guiding  mind  of  the  vast  combin- 
ations which  defeated  Napoleon  and<  decided  the  form  of  modern  Europe. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  REVIEWS  OF  THE  METTERNICH 

MEMOIRS. 

"  The  great  chancellor  writes  with  an  exceedingly  easy  pen.  It  is  indeed  inter- 
esting to  follow  his  narration,  so  clear  that  one  never  loses  the  thread  of  his  story,  and 
so  graphic  that  we  get  a  glimpse  of  the  sceni-s  as  with  our  own  eyes.  The  work  is 
intensely  interesting  10  read,  and  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  historical  student." — 
N.   Y.  Independent. 

"Of  the  great  value  of  the  work  we  have  already  spoken.  It  not  only  enables 
the  world  for  the  first  time  to  understand  clearly  the  objects  for  which  Prince  Metter- 
nich contended  throughout  his  long  public  life,  but  casts  fresh  light  on  some  of  the 
most  obscure  historical  incidents  of  his  day." — 'Ike  Aihtfttpuin. 

"The  Memoirs  of  Metternich  are  to  be  heartily  welcomed  oy  all  who  are  inter- 
ested either  in  the  serious  facts  or  the  ligh'er  gossip  of  history.  There  is  no  period, 
indeed,  in  recent  history,  more  important  or  attractive  than  that  covered  by  the  firat 
volume  of  these  memoirs." — Boston  Literary  World. 


***  For  sale    by    all    booksellers,    or  will  be  sent,  prepaid,  tipon 
receipt  of  price,  by 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS,  Publishers, 

743  AND  745  Broadway,  New  York. 


/ 


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